Daniel Noboa

Daniel Roy Gilchrist Noboa Azín ( ; ; born 30 November 1987) is an Ecuadorian politician and businessman currently serving as the 48th president of Ecuador since 23 November 2023. Taking office at the age of 35, he is the second-youngest president in the country's history, after Juan José Flores, and the youngest to be elected.

Noboa was a member of the National Assembly of Ecuador from 2021 until 2023 when the National Assembly was dissolved following the ''muerte cruzada'' constitutional mechanism invoked by President Guillermo Lasso. Before his political career, Noboa served in several positions at Noboa Corporation, an exporting business founded by his father Álvaro Noboa, a billionaire who unsuccessfully ran for president of Ecuador five times. He has been widely described as an heir to his father's company and fortune.

In May 2023, Noboa announced his candidacy for president in the 2023 snap election, running on the National Democratic Action ticket. He advanced to the run-off election in October, facing Luisa González, which many interpreted as an upset given his low polling numbers in the days leading up to the election. Noboa went on to win nearly 52% of the vote in the run-off, defeating González on 15 October 2023.

Noboa is currently the youngest democratically elected serving state leader in the world, and the third-youngest head of government after Gabriel Attal of France and Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso.

Early life and education

Daniel Roy Gilchrist Noboa Azín was born on 30 November 1987 in Miami, Florida, however, he was raised in Guayaquil. He is the son of businessman Álvaro Noboa and physician Anabella Azín.

After studying at New York University Stern School of Business, he obtained a degree in business administration in 2010.

Noboa continued his career by specializing in several master's degrees. In 2019, Noboa earned a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois. In 2020, he studied at Harvard University and in 2022, he obtained a master's degree in Political Communication and Strategic Governance from George Washington University, joining other well-known figures from Latin America such as Geovanny Vicente, under the supervision of professor Roberto Izurieta, Noboa’s current Press Secretary.

Business

At the age of 18, Noboa founded his own company, DNA Entertainment Group, with the purpose of organizing events.

His father, Álvaro Noboa, owns Noboa Corporation, a banana exporter. Daniel Noboa is seen as an heir to the company. He has served as shipping director of Noboa Corporation. He was also commercial and logistics director between 2010 and June 2018.

Political career

National Assembly

Noboa was elected to the National Assembly in the 2021 legislative elections, representing Santa Elena, for the United Ecuadorian political movement. He was inaugurated on 14 May in the same year. In that same May, he was appointed chair of the Economic Development Commission. His political ideology has been described as both centrist and centre-right.

Noboa was absent during President Lasso's impeachment trial, however a proxy voted in the affirmative. In March 2023, he was in favor of the ''muerte cruzada'', in the face of the rejection and filing of the Investment Law, presented by the government of Guillermo Lasso. On 17 May 2023, Lasso invoked ''muerte cruzada'', dissolving the National Assembly and ending Noboa's tenure as an assemblyman.

2023 presidential campaign

In May 2023, and with the dissolution of parliament amid the political crisis, he presented himself as a pre-candidate for the presidential elections of the same year, by the political movement National Democratic Action (ADN), and also supported by the movements People, Equality and Democracy (PID) and MOVER. His running mate was businesswoman Verónica Abad Rojas. Veronica Abad espouses "openly extreme libertarian and conservative-reactionary positions." His campaign has focused on job creation, tax incentives for newly established businesses and increased criminal sentences for tax evaders. He has also pledged to improve the justice system in the country amid growing violence.

His campaign is seen as traditional, drawing on the Grupo Noboa social welfare foundation founded by his parents, as well as his ties as chairman of the Commission on Economic Development.

In two July polls, he was polling at 6.4% and at 3.1%. In early August, Noboa was polling at 2.5% and 3.7%. In a poll conducted a week before the election, he was polling at 3.3%.

On 20 August, Noboa gathered 23.47% of the actual votes and advanced to the run-off election set for 15 October, facing Luisa González. His second-place finish was seen as surprising, with some attributing his rise in popularity to his debate performance. Noboa credited the young voter base for his victory.

In the second round, Noboa was elected, winning 52% of the vote. Elected at age 35, he is the youngest president in Ecuadorian history (and the second youngest head of state in the world, and youngest democratically elected head of state in the world), beating the record of Jaime Roldós Aguilera who was inaugurated at 38 years old in 1979. Following his victory, Noboa thanked voters for believing in "a new political project, a young political project, an improbable political project". He vowed to "to return peace to the country, to give education to the youth again, to be able to provide employment to the many people who are looking for it". Prior to taking office, Noboa travelled to the United States and Europe to search for investors and business lenders to assist the country's debt crisis. During his visit to Washington, D.C. he met with officials from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States. On 17 October, Noboa visited the Presidential Palace to meet with outgoing President Guillermo Lasso.

Presidency (2023–present)

Noboa was inaugurated as president on 23 November 2023, becoming the country's youngest person to assume the office after winning a popular election. President of Colombia Gustavo Petro was the only foreign head of state to attend his inauguration. His inaugural address lasted seven minutes where he criticized the "old paradigms" in the National Assembly. Because Noboa was elected in a snap election, upon his inauguration he only had 18 months to govern and complete the rest of Lasso's term before it will naturally expire before the next scheduled elections in 2025.

Hours after taking office, Noboa pledged reforms to reduce violence and create employment opportunities in the country, even though he had not appointed a Finance Minister. He initially announced he would appoint economist Sariha Moya as Minister of Finance, but ultimately had her lead the nation's planning secretariat instead. Many of the President's cabinet were sworn in on 23 November 2023 including Ivonne Núñez who became the Minister of Labor.

Two days into his term, he ordered the Ministry of the Interior to repeal the Drug Consumption Table, which he believed encouraged "micro-trafficking". He simultaneously instructed the Interior and Health Ministries to create programs to reduce the consumption of narcotics and provide treatment for drug abusers. In conflict with his Vice President, Veronica Abad, from the very first days of his mandate, he decided to distance her by appointing her "peace collaborator" between Israel and the Palestinians, a mission she was to carry out from the Ecuadorian embassy in Tel Aviv. At the same time, he announced the reorganisation of the vice-presidency in order to reduce its powers. Verónica Abad accused him of sending her "to die in the war". In an effort to reduce overcrowding, Noboa proposed deporting 1,500 foreign prisoners who are incarcerated in Ecuador on 15 December. He also said he would consider constructing two maximum security prisons, drawing inspiration from El Salvador. The same day, Noboa announced he would seek to cut $1 billion in government spending, while raising revenue via gold reserves worth around $300 million.

Noboa addressed the UN Security Council On 9 December, highlighting criminal gang activities and overall security as high priorities. On 10 December 2023, Noboa attended the inauguration of Argentinian President Javier Milei. On the sidelines of Milei's inauguration, Noboa met with Ukrainian President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy, who praised him for his stance on Russia's invasion. The two discussed expanding bilateral relations, primarily surrounding security and trade. Zelenskyy also invited Noboa to visit Ukraine.

2024 state of emergency

On 7 January 2024, Los Choneros leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar escaped from prison in the city of Guayaquil, on the day of his scheduled transfer to a maximum-security prison. The events were reported the next day by authorities, with charges being filed against two prison guards. Following the escape, Noboa declared a state of emergency, to last for 60 days, giving authorities the power to suspend people's rights and allowing the military to be mobilized inside prisons. Riots ensued in multiple prisons across Ecuador. Two days later, mass armed attacks occurred throughout the country, including armed groups storming a television broadcasting station mid-air. The left-wing opposition supports the government: "Now is the time for national unity. Organized crime has declared war on the state, and the state must prevail. Some analysts criticize President Noboa for providing an exclusively security-based response to crime, without making any announcements on possible reforms of the police and judiciary, reputed to be highly corrupt, or on social policies to combat the root causes of violence.

Political positions

Noboa has rejected identification with both the left and right of the political spectrum, broadly describing his political alignment as center-left. Some news outlets have described him as having a conservative view on financial issues and a liberal view on social issues. He has been described as a centrist. According to Constantin Groll, head of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's office in Ecuador, Noboa "stands for business-friendly politics and conservative values, and can be classified as belonging to the right-wing camp".

Noboa supports LGBT rights and denounced discrimination. He has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and denounced the Hamas 7 October attacks against Israel, but he is against the recognition of the Palestinian state. Regarding energy, Noboa cited cleaner energy as a solution for issues regarding electricity production and distribution.

Controversy

In June 2021, a complaint filed by Noboa was admitted to a Spanish court to investigate the insurer Mapfre for the alleged crime of violation of the right to privacy and disclosure of secrets, for data used by Goldbaum during the divorce process.

The Brazilian daily ''Folha de S.Paulo'' revealed in October 2023 that Noboa is the owner of two offshore companies located in Panama, according to the Panama Papers. He is also linked to several other companies owned by his father in tax havens. Ecuadorian law prohibits election candidates from owning assets in tax havens.

Personal life

In 2018, he married Gabriela Goldbaum. They had a daughter. They later divorced. In June 2021, a complaint filed by Noboa was accepted by a Spanish court to investigate the insurance company Mapfre. This was related to an alleged violation of privacy and disclosure of secrets involving data used by Goldbaum during their divorce.

In 2019 he met the social media influencer Lavinia Valbonesi, whom he married on 28 August 2021, after a year and eight months of relationship. They have two sons.

Along with his native Spanish, Noboa speaks fluent English.

References

External links

Campaign website
(in Spanish)
Biography by CIDOB
(in Spanish)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noboa, Daniel
1987 births
Noboa family
Presidents of Ecuador
Living people
George Washington University alumni
Politicians from Guayaquil
21st-century Ecuadorian politicians
Candidates for President of Ecuador
People from Santa Elena Province
Members of the National Assembly (Ecuador)
Ecuadorian businesspeople
Members of the fourth National Assembly (Ecuador)
Harvard University alumni
Institutional Renewal Party of National Action politicians