Ricardo Martinelli: Difference between revisions
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'''Ricardo Martinelli''' (born 11 March 1952, in [[Panama City, Panama|Panama City]]) is the current President-Elect of the Republic of Panama after winning the 2009 General Election |
'''Ricardo Martinelli''' (born 11 March 1952, in [[Panama City, Panama|Panama City]]) is the current President-Elect of the Republic of Panama after winning the 2009 General Election. He is a [[Panama]]nian politician and businessman. |
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== Early life == |
== Early life == |
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Revision as of 13:03, 4 May 2009
Ricardo Martinelli | |
|---|---|
| President-elect of Panama | |
| Assuming office July 1, 2009 | |
| Succeeding | Martín Torrijos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 11, 1952 |
| Political party | Democratic Change |
Ricardo Martinelli (born 11 March 1952, in Panama City) is the current President-Elect of the Republic of Panama after winning the 2009 General Election. He is a Panamanian politician and businessman.
Early life
Martinelli is the son of Ricardo Martinelli Pardini and Gloria Berrocal.[1] He completed his secondary education at Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Virginia in the United States.[2]. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Business Administration degree from the INCAE Business School.[2] Martinelli is married to Marta Linares and has 3 children: Ricardo, Luis Enrique and Carolina.[1]
Business career
Martinelli is currently the chairman of the board of Panama's Súper 99 supermarket chain.[2][1] He is chairman of two other companies and sits on the boards of at least eight other companies.[1]
Politics
During the presidency of Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Martinelli served as Director of Social Security from 1994 to 1996.[2] From September 1999 to January 2003 he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal and as the Minister for Canal Affairs.[2]
Martinelli, described as a "right-winger" by the BBC[3], is the president of the Democratic Change party, which was founded in May 1998.[2] He was the leader of the party and a presidential candidate during the 2004 general election, when his party came last with results of 5% of the vote.[3]
Martinelli is the leader of Democratic Change and presidential candidate in the 2009 general election.[2] He made promises to cut political corruption and reduce violent crime and spent an estimated $35 million on promoting his campaign.[3] Martinelli was the favourite to win the election and opinion polls gave him a double-digit lead over the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party-People's Party coalition.[3] He has the support of the Alliance for Change, a group of political parties which includes his own Cambio Democratico Party, the Panameñista Party, the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement and the Patriotic Union Party.[2]
Ricardo Martinelli also founded in 2004 "The Ricardo Martinelli Foundation", of which he is its fundraiser and gives more than 8,000 scholarships a year to poor students with good scholastic average.
On May 3, 2009, Ricardo Martinelli won the national elections by a landslide, with over 60% of the votes compared to his closest rival, Balbina Herrera, who received about 36%. This was the most ample margin ever recorded since 1989. He is expected to take office on July 1, 2009.
References
- ^ a b c d "¿Quién es Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal?". Official 2009 campaign web site (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Ricardo Martinelli, el magnate de supermercados que ofrece un cambio al país" (in Spanish). Univision. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d "Change expected as Panama votes". BBC. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
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