Osvaldo Hurtado

For the Chilean footballer, see Osvaldo Hurtado (footballer).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Hurtado and the second or maternal family name is Larrea.
Osvaldo Hurtado
34th President of Ecuador
In office
24 May 1981 – 10 August 1984
Vice PresidentLeón Roldós Aguilera (1981–1984)
Preceded byJaime Roldós Aguilera
Succeeded byLeón Febres Cordero
Vice President of Ecuador
In office
10 August 1979 – 24 May 1981
PresidentJaime Roldós Aguilera
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byBlasco Peñaherrera Padilla
President of the 1998 Constitutional Assembly
In office
20 December 1997 – 8 May 1998
Personal details
Born
Luis Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea

(1939-06-26) 26 June 1939 (age 85)
Chambo, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador
Political partyPopular Democracy
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1968)​
Alma materPontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
OccupationPolitical scientist

Luis Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea (born 26 June 1939) is an Ecuadorian author and politician who served as President of Ecuador from 24 May 1981 to 10 August 1984.

Hurtado was born in Chambo, Chimborazo Province. During his studies at the Catholic University in the 1960s, Hurtado became a student leader. Afterwards, he lectured political sociology at his alma mater and at the Centro Andino of the University of New Mexico.[1] He became one of the most widely read political scientists of his home country. In 1977, he authored an influential book on Ecuadorian politics titled El Poder Político en el Ecuador (English: "Political Power in Ecuador").[1]

Hurtado drew progressive Catholics and younger professionals away from the Social Christian Party and into the Christian Democrats movement which was inspired by Christian communitarianism and Liberation theology and criticized capitalist exploitation. At the time, it was the most radical among Ecuador's non-Marxist parties and Hurtado was suspected by his right-wing opponents of being a "closet Marxist". In 1978, he merged his Christian Democrats with the progressive wing of the Conservative Party to form the Popular Democracy party.[2]

In 1979, Hurtado was chosen as running mate of presidential candidate Jaime Roldós Aguilera of the populist Concentration of People's Forces. Roldós was successful and Hurtado became Vice President of Ecuador.[3] On Sunday, 24 May 1981, Jaime Roldós Aguilera died in a plane crash. Hurtado succeeded Roldós Aguilera as President of Ecuador and served out the rest of his term.

Hurtado is a member of the Club de Madrid.[1] He is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.[4]

  1. ^ a b c "Hurtado, Osvaldo profile". Club de Madrid. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  2. ^ Handelman, Howard (1981), "A New Political Direction?", Military Government and the Movement Toward Democracy in South America, American Universities Field Staff, p. 37
  3. ^ "Vicepresidentes en la historia" (PDF). www.vicepresidencia.gob.ec. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Inter-American Dialogue | Osvaldo Hurtado". www.thedialogue.org. Retrieved 12 April 2017.