Ricardo Martinelli
President of Panama
Assumed office
July 1, 2009
Vice PresidentJuan Carlos Varela
Preceded byMartín Torrijos
Personal details
Born (1952-03-11) March 11, 1952 (age 72)
Political partyCambio Democrático
SpouseMarta Linares
Alma materUniversity of Arkansas
INCAE Business School
OccupationBusinessman, Politician

Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal (born 11 March 1952, in Panama City) is the 49th and current President of the Republic of Panama. He is a Panamanian politician and businessman of Italian descent from his father's side.

Early life

Martinelli is the son of Ricardo Martinelli Pardini and Gloria Berrocal Fabrega. He completed his secondary education at Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Virginia in the United States.[1] In 1973, he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas.[2] He later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the INCAE Business School.[1] Martinelli is married to Marta Linares and has three children: Ricardo Martinelli Linares, Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Carolina Martinelli Linares.

Business career

Martinelli is currently the chairman of the board of Panama's Super 99 supermarket chain.[1] He is chairman of two other companies and sits on the boards of at least eight other companies.

Politics

During the presidency of Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Martinelli served as Director of Social Security from 1994 to 1996.[1] From September 1999 to January 2003, during the presidency of Mireya Moscoso, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal and as the Minister for Canal Affairs.[1]

Martinelli is the president of the Democratic Change party, which was founded in May 1998.[1] He led the party and was the presidential candidate during the 2004 general election, when his party came last; Martinelli received 5.3% of the vote and came in a distant fourth place in the presidential election.[3]

Martinelli was the leader of Democratic Change and presidential candidate in the 2009 general election.[1] 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 had the support of the Alliance for Change, a group of political parties which includes his own Democratic Change party, the Panameñista Party, the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement and the Patriotic Union Party.[1]

In 2004 Ricardo Martinelli founded "The Ricardo Martinelli Foundation", for which he acts as fundraiser. The Foundation grants more than 8,000 scholarships a year to poor students with good scholastic averages.[citation needed]

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 second-largest majority in Panamanian history, and the largest since 1989.[4] He was sworn in on July 1, 2009.[5]

Since coming to office, Martinelli has introduced a number of measures designed to alleviate poverty, including a $100 monthly pension for the elderly, and increase in the minimum wage, and subsidies for students to meet the cost of uniforms and supplies.[6]

An August 2009 U.S. State Department cable signed by then-U.S. Ambassador to Panama Barbara J. Stephenson and released by the whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks "describes Martinelli’s 'autocratic tendencies such as asking the U.S. government for help to wiretap political opponents," and says that "after meeting the Panamanian president, [Stephenson] is under the impression that Martinelli 'may be willing to set aside the rule of law in order to achieve his political and developmental goals.'"[7] The cable also states that "Martinelli has resorted to 'bullying and blackmailing' of private businesses" and told Stephenson that “he had already met with the heads of Panama’s four mobile phone operators and discussed methods for obtaining call data.”[7] It concludes by noting that "[m]ost of [Martinelli’s] government appointments have favored loyalty over competence.”[7]

Honors

On February 20, 2010 The University of Arkansas established the Ricardo A. Martinelli Berrocal Scholarship to provide financial aid to prospective University of Arkansas students from Panama. He was also presented with the Citation of Distinguished Alumnus award, and made an official ambassador of the State of Arkansas by Governor Mike Beebe.[8]

On October 30, 2010, Martinelli was in attendance for the University of Arkansas's homecoming festivities and crowned the 2010 Homecoming King. The Razorback beat the Vanderbilt Commodores 49-14.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ricardo Martinelli, el magnate de supermercados que ofrece un cambio al país" (in Spanish). EFE. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010. ((cite news)): Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) (English Translation)
  2. ^ "University of Arkansas Graduate Wins Panama Presidential Election". Arkansas Alumni Association. Retrieved on May 9, 2009
  3. ^ a b c "Change expected as Panama votes". BBC. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009. ((cite news)): Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "Cifras, techos y realidades" (in Spanish). La Prensa. Retrieved on May 4, 2009
  5. ^ "Pro-business president takes office in Panama". Retrieved 2009-07-02. ((cite news)): Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Split+with+the+past%3a+with+Panama%27s+Ricardo+Martinelli+and+EL...-a0221432355
  7. ^ a b c Hidalgo, Juan Carlos (2010-12-28) Wikileaks Cable: Martinelli Is a Threat to the Rule of Law in Panama, Cato Institute
  8. ^ "President Ricardo Martinelli Visits Campus". University of Arkansas Newswire. February 20, 2010.
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Political offices Preceded byMartín Torrijos President of Panama 2009–present Incumbent
Commanders of the Panamanian Defense Forces (1968–1989)

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