Attorney General of Guatemala
Incumbent
María Consuelo Porras
since 17 May 2018
StyleMister/Madam Attorney General (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
AppointerThe President of Guatemala
Term lengthFour years
Inaugural holderRámses Cuestas Gómez
Formation15 May 1996
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The Attorney General of Guatemala (Fiscal General de la República de Guatemala) is the chief public prosecutor and head of the Ministerio Público (Department of Justice) of Guatemala.

According to article 251 of the Constitution of Guatemala, the Attorney General is selected by the President from a pool of six candidates who must be lawyers and must have the same qualifications as the magistrates of the Supreme Court. They are nominated by a commission conformed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the deans of the law schools of the country's universities, and both the chairman of the bar association and of its honor tribunal.[1]

The Attorney General has a term of four years and has the same immunity as the magistrates of the Supreme Court. The President can remove the official only due to a justified reason properly established.[1] This reason according to article 14 of the Organic Law of the Ministerio Público is conviction of the Attorney General for committing a crime during the exercise of their functions.[2]

List of attorneys general

No. Name Image Term Notes
1 Rámses Cuestas Gómez[3] May 15, 1994 – March 14, 1996 Appointed by President Ramiro de León Carpio; Guatemala's first Attorney General.
* Héctor Hugo Pérez Aguilera[3] March 15, 1996 – May 14, 1998 Interim Attorney General named by President Álvaro Arzú.
2 Adolfo González Rodas[4] May 15, 1998 – May 17, 2002 Appointed.
3 Carlos David de León Argueta[citation needed][5] May 18, 2002 – February 25, 2004 Appointed and later removed by President Óscar Berger.
4 Juan Luis Florido Solís[6] February 26, 2004 – July 30, 2008 Interim and later appointed. Presented his resignation to President Álvaro Colom.
5 José Amílcar Velásquez Zárate[7] July 31, 2008 – May 14, 2010 Interim and later appointed.
* María Encarnación Mejía García de Contreras[8] May 15, 2010 – May 25, 2010 Interim; first female Attorney General.
* Conrado Arnulfo Reyes Sagastume[9][10] May 25, 2010 – June 10, 2010 Removed by the Constitutional Court.
* María Encarnación Mejía García de Contreras June 11, 2010 – December 9, 2010 Interim (second term as Interim Attorney General).
6 Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey[11] December 9, 2010 – May 17, 2014 Appointed; first female (non-interim) Attorney General. Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize while in office as minister of justice in 2013.[12]
7 Thelma Aldana Hernández de López[13] May 17, 2014 – May 17, 2018
8 María Consuelo Porras Argueta de Porres May 17, 2018 – present

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala" [Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala] (PDF). Ministerio de Gobernación. Retrieved 13 Oct 2023.
  2. ^ "¿Cuáles son los caminos que la ley marca para la renuncia o remoción del jefe del MP?" [Which legal way for the resignation or the removal of the chief of the MP?]. Prensa Libre. 30 Aug 2023. Retrieved 13 Oct 2023.
  3. ^ a b Acabal Caal, Marco Tulio. "CONSECUENCIAS LEGALES DE CARÀCTER JURÌDICO-PENAL, DEL NOMBRAMIENTO DEL FISCAL GENERAL DE LA REPÙBLICA Y JEFE DEL MINISTERIO PÙBLICO EN EL AÑO 2004" (PDF). biblioteca.usac.edu.gt.
  4. ^ [1][permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Google".
  6. ^ "Archived copy". digital.nuestrodiario.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Colom realiza juramentación "express" | elPeriódico de Guatemala". Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  8. ^ "María Encarnación Mejía es nombrada fiscal interina | elPeriódico de Guatemala". Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  9. ^ [2][permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Noticias.com.gt (11 June 2010). "Destituyen al fiscal general Conrado Reyes por presuntos vínculos con el narco". Archived from the original on 12 April 2013.
  11. ^ "Presidente juramenta a la nueva Fiscal General | elPeriódico de Guatemala". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  12. ^ NRK (17 September 2013). "Williams kritiserer Nobelkomiteen".
  13. ^ Thelma Aldana es la nueva Fiscal General. Prensa Libre, 9 May 2014.
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