Ricardo Martinelli
Ricardo Martinelli (born 11 March 1952, in Panama City) is a Panamanian politician, businessman, and presidential candidate. After losing in 2004, he is the current President Elect of the Republic of Panama.
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] Martinelli also studied at La Salle College. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Central American Institute of Business Administration of Central America.[2] Martinelli is married to Marta Linares with whom he has 3 children: Ricardo, Luis Enrique and Carolina.[1]
Business career
Martinelli is a millionaire and chairman of the board of the Super 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 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, in which his party came fourth and claimed around 5% of the vote.[3]
Martinelli is 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 is the favourite to win the election and opinion polls give 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 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.
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 "Change expected as Panama votes". BBC. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
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