Juan Carlos Varela

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Varela and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.
Juan Carlos Varela
37th President of the Republic of Panama
Assumed office
1 July 2014
Vice President Isabel Saint Malo
Preceded by Ricardo Martinelli
Vice-President of Panama
In office
1 July 2009 – 1 July 2014
President Ricardo Martinelli
Preceded by Samuel Lewis Navarro
Succeeded by Isabel Saint Malo
Personal details
Born Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez
(1963-12-12) 12 December 1963
Panama City, Panama
Political party Panameñista Party
Spouse(s) Lorena Castillo García (m. 1992–Present),
now styled Honorable Señora Lorena Castillo de Varela
Children Gian Carlo
Adrian
Stefan
Alma mater Georgia Institute of Technology
Religion Roman Catholicism

Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez (born 12 December 1963) is a Panamanian politician, and President of Panama since 2014.

Varela was Vice-President of Panama from 2009 to 2014, and Minister of Foreign Relations from July 2009 to August 2011. He has been President of the Panameñistas, the third-largest political party in Panama, since 2006.

On 4 May 2014, Varela won the 2014 presidential election with over 39% of the votes, against the Cambio Democrático Party, led by his former political partner Ricardo Martinelli, whose candidate was José Domingo Arias.[1] He was sworn in as President on 1 July 2014.

Early life and education

Born in Panama City, Juan Carlos Varela is a businessman and entrepreneur, whose family hails from Herrera Province. His paternal grandfather José Varela Blanco emigrated from Bergondo, Galicia in Spain and settled in the district of Pesé, Herrera in Panama.[2] After graduating from Colegio Javier, he attended the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering in 1985.[3]

Career

In the private sector, Varela has been on the board of his family company since 1985, serving as Executive Vice-President of Varela Hermanos S.A. until 2008.[4]

Varela entered politics in the early 1990s, becoming chief of the Panameñista Party campaign in 1994 and was the Panameñista Party's presidential candidate during the 2009 election; Varela joined forces with his rival, Ricardo Martinelli, as vice-presidential candidate, being sworn in on July 1, 2009 as Vice-President of Panama under President Martinelli.[5] Varela won the 2014 presidential election, winning against the ruling-party candidate José Domingo Arias, who was supported by Cambio Democrático, a party led by outgoing President Ricardo Martinelli. Varela won about 39% of the vote against 32% for Arias.[6]

Personal life

Styles of
Juan Carlos Varela
Presidente de la República de Panamá
Reference style Excelentísimo Señor Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez
Spoken style Mr President
Alternative style Señor Varela or Sir
Cross pro merito Melitensi

The is the son of José Varela and Beixie née Rodríguez.

Varela married Lorena Castillo, a journalist, in 1992.[7] They reside in Panama City and have three sons: Gian Carlo, Adrian and Stefan.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Panama's New President: A Boost for Business". Time. May 5, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ President of Panama visits Galicia 2016
  3. ↑ "Launching of the Center". Georgia Tech Panama Logistics Innovation ahd Research Center. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  4. ↑ www.varelahermanos.com
  5. ↑ "Transmision de Mando Presidencial (Spanish)".
  6. ↑ Randal C. Archibold, "Incumbent’s Party Loses Presidency in Panama", New York Times, 4 May 2014
  7. 1 2 "First Lady of Panama Lorena Castillo de Varela". Embassy of Panama in Manila, Philippines. Retrieved 2016-06-14.

External sources

Party political offices
Preceded by
Marco Ameglio		 President of the Panameñista Party
2006–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Samuel Lewis Navarro		 Minister of Foreign Relations
2009–2011 		Succeeded by
Roberto Henríquez
Vice-President of Panama
2009–2014 		Succeeded by
Isabel Saint Malo
Preceded by
Ricardo Martinelli		 President of Panama
2014–present 		Incumbent
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juan Carlos Varela.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.