Rafael Leonardo Callejas

Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero (born November 14, 1943 in Tegucigalpa , † April 4, 2020 in Atlanta , Georgia , United States ) was a Honduran economist and politician . He was President of Honduras from January 27, 1990 to January 27, 1994 .

Life

His parents were Emma Romero and Rafael Callejas Valentine. He studied from 1961 to 1966 at the University of Mississippi , from which he later an honorary doctorate got Agricultural Economics . In 1967 he did postgraduate studies in the Netherlands in agricultural development. In 1968 he campaigned for Oswaldo López Arellano , and when he was president, Callejas was director of economic planning in a ministry from 1972 to 1975.

In 1975, General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro appointed him Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, a post he also held in the cabinet of General Policarpio Juan Paz García , who had been put to the government .

He became General Manager of Banco Mercantil .

From 1980 to 1981 he was a delegate of a constituent assembly for the Francisco Morazán Department .

When a president of the Partido Liberal de Honduras (PLH) came into office by elections in November 1981 , Callejas rose to the Partido Nacional de Honduras (PNH) and became chairman of the Central Committee in 1982 . The PNH was part of Ricardo Maduro's electoral alliance , Unidad y Cambio .

In 1985 he founded the Movimiento Nacional Callejista as his presidential electoral alliance . At that time, the large parties in Honduras admitted several candidates for the presidency. Callejas received the relatively highest number of votes with 42.6%, the PLH candidates together received 51.5%. The candidate with the highest number of votes in the PLH, José Simón Azcona del Hoyo with 27.5%, became president.

Callejas was vice chairman of the International Democratic Union .

In the 1989 presidential election it was reported that 200,000 identity cards were used by the dead. Callejas won 52.3% of the votes counted and became the first president of the PNH since 1972.

Callejas was married to Nan López for the first time and to Norma Regina Gaborit for the second time.

Presidency

The International Monetary Fund advised the government to reduce public spending and devalue the Lempira . In the first months of his government he issued the Ley de Ordenamiento Económico , which he had been advised by the international financial organizations. The reduction in public spending was represented by the layoffs of public sector employees. The US government corrected in September 1991 430 million US dollars outstanding of the government of Honduras as uncollectible.

His policy was based on the needs of investors. The Sula Valley got 90 kilometers of four-lane roads and developed into a center of the maquila industry . For some of the victims of this economic policy there was the Programa de Asignacion Familiar (PRAF) and the Fondo Hondureño de Inversión Social (FHIS).

Expatriates from previous governments were allowed to return to Honduras. Support for the Contras in Honduran territory has ceased.

After his presidency he became a member of the Parliamento Centroamericano. After leaving office, 11 lawsuits against him for abuse of power were brought to court. He was acquitted.

From 1998 to 2002 he was a Member of Parliament for the Francisco Morazán Department in the Parliament of Honduras.

On September 19, 2006, Callejas' visa was canceled at Miami Airport . The US administration of George W. Bush , represented by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement , found him guilty of corruption.

Football official

Until 2015, Callejas was President of the Football Association of Honduras and a member of the FIFA Marketing Committee . As part of the US charges against 41 soccer officials in 2015/16, Callejas was also charged with accepting bribes of $ 1.6 million in connection with the granting of TV rights. Callejas confessed to fraud and conspiracy and agreed to a fine of 650,000 euros.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Muere el expresidente de Honduras, Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero
2. ↑ Fallece el expresidente Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero. In: Proceso Digital. April 5, 2020, accessed April 5, 2020 . 
3. ↑ honduraseducacional: Rafael Leonardo Callejas ( Memento of October 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Fifa scandal: Former Honduras President admits corruption spiegel.de March 28, 2016

predecessor	Office	successor
José Simón Azcona del Hoyo	President of Honduras January 27, 1990-27. January 1994	Carlos Roberto Reina