Luis Alberto Lacalleh

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Biographical Information

"Dr. Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera was President of Uruguay from 1990-1995. In 1961 he started in journalism at the newspaper Clarín where he wrote political analysis columns. Subsequently, he has been the author of numerous commentaries and articles on political and economic problems in Uruguay and Latin America. Dr. Lacalle became affiliated with the Partido Nacional (Blanco) at the age of seventeen. His political career began in 1971 when he was elected Member of Parliament for Montevideo, a position which he held until the military coup d’état of 1973. For twelve years he was an opponent of the dictatorship and suffered persecution for their activities. In 1978 he survived an assassination attempt, in a case that became known as The Plot of the Poisoned Wine. In 1981 he founded, and became Secretary General of the Herrera National Council, one of the three principal groups inside the White Party.

"Following the restoration of democracy in 1984, Dr. Lacalle was elected Senator in the elections held that year. Three years later he was named Vice President of the Senate. Elected President of Uruguay to serve a five-year term from 1990 to 1995, his administration is known for having implemented a free market program. During his term in office Dr. Lacalle, along with the Presidents of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, co-founded the MERCOSUR which was established by the Treaty of Asunción on March 26th 1991. Dr. Lacalle has received Honorary Doctorates from the Complutense University of Madrid (1992), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1992), the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Mexico (1993), and the National University of Paraguay (1993). He is also the recipient of various awards including the Jerusalem Award (1995), Gran Collar de la Orden Nacional del Mérito del Ecuador (1990), Gran Collar de la Orden al Mérito de Chile (1991), Collar de la Orden del Libertador Gral. San Martín de Argentina (1991), Gran Collar del Cóndor de los Andes de Bolivia (1991), Gran Cruz de la Orden Cruzeiro do Sul de Brasil (1991), and the Gold Medal of the Xunta de Galicia (Spain, 1994). In addition, in 1993 the Queen of England named Luis Alberto Lacalle a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael & Saint George."

Affiliations

• Advisory Board, Humanity Without Borders Foundation ‎
• Former Member, International Committee for Democracy in Cuba