Guatemala's new president is conservative former top judge
Guatemala's new president is conservative former top judge
Sep 3, 5:18 PM EDT
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- Guatemala's new president had only just occupied the vice president's chair when he was promoted to the country's top spot following the resignation of outgoing President Otto Perez Molina amid a corruption scandal.
But Alejandro Maldonado, who had served only a few months as Guatemala's No. 2 official before Congress swore him in on Thursday, will have a short stay in the presidency as well. He will be replaced on Jan. 14, 2016 when the winner of Sunday's presidential contest is inaugurated.
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Maldonado has served as Guatemala's foreign minister and in ambassadorial posts. He also formerly headed Guatemala's highest court, where he presided over much-debated decisions like the one not to extradite former dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Rios Montt faced charges in Spain for genocide, torture and terrorism committed at the height of Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war, and the decision against extradition was hotly criticized.
Maldonado also oversaw the high court's 2011 decision to bar former first lady Sandra Torres' bid to succeed her ex-husband in the presidency. Torres had divorced then-president Alvaro Colom months earlier, but Maldonado said her candidacy still violated a constitutional ban on relatives of the chief executive running for the office.
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