President of Guatemala
The title of
President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of
Guatemala since
1851, when that title was assumed by
José Rafael Carrera, who had been acting as head of government as
general and
caudillo since
1840. Earlier, Guatemala had been a state within the
United Provinces of Central America since
1823, before that part of the
Mexican Empire under
Agustín de Iturbide, and before
1821 ruled by the
Captain General of Guatemala, a
Spanish colonial official owing allegiance to the
Viceroy of
New Spain and the
King of Spain, back to the Spanish conquest of the region in the early
16th century.
The title of "
President" has been used by democratically elected leaders and appointed heads of state, as well as by dictators who took power by military
coup.
In the presidential election of
9 November 2003, no candidate succeeded in securing a majority of votes; top vote getters
"scar Berger and
Álvaro Colom faced each other in a run-off election on
28 December, with Berger winning 54% of the vote.
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Flag of the President of Guatemala |
(From
20 October 1944 to
15 March 1945 Guatemala was governed by a military
junta consisting of
Francisco Javier Arana,
Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, and
Jorge Toriello Garrido.)
(From
29 June 1954 to
8 July 1954 Guatemala was run by a Junta headed by General
Elfego Hernán Monzón Aguirre; from then until
26 July 1957 by a Junta headed by
Carlos Castillo Armas)
(From
24 October 1957 to
26 October 1957 Guatemala was ruled by a military Junta headed by
"scar Mendoza Azurdia.)
*
History of Guatemala
