Werner Omar Quesada Martínez (born 24 September 1965) is a Peruvian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. A ranking member of the

Peruvian Aprista Party The Peruvian Aprista Party (, PAP) () is a Peruvian social-democratic political party and a member of the Socialist International. The party was founded as the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (, APRA) by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre ...

, he served as the party's Institutional Secretary General from March 2010 to July 2017. His career has been marked by controversy. Raised in the

Ayacucho Region Ayacucho (), known as Huamanga from its creation in 1822 until 1825, is a department and region of Peru, located in the south-central Andes of the country. Its capital is the city of Ayacucho. The region was one of the hardest hit in the 1980 ...

, he served as a regional party leader throughout his youth, becoming the first democratically elected governor of Ayacucho, from 2003 to 2006. In the

second presidency of Alan García The second presidency of Alan García (2006–2011) began with the successful economic growth of the country recovering from the crisis of the first presidency of Alan García in the 1980s. Presidents Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000) and Alejand ...

, he was appointed as Director of the Informal Property Formalization Agency (COFOPRI), an agency dependent of the Ministry of Housing. Upon the revelation of irregular property selling conceded by the agency, he was forced to tender his resignation in April 2010.

Early life and education

Born in the northern city of Trujillo, La Libertad, Quesada was raised in

Huanta Huanta is a town in Central Peru, capital of the province Huanta in the region Ayacucho. History In the era of the Spanish American wars of independence, Huanta remained loyal to the Spanish ...

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...

. From a very young age, he registered himself in the

. After finishing his high school education at María Auxiliadora Grand School Unity in 1981, he travelled to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in order enroll in the

Universidad de San Martín de Porres Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

to study law. He was able to finish his law degree in 1996. Simultaneously with his college education, Quesada served in a variety of positions within the

's Regional Committee. In 1985, he rose to the position of Deputy Regional Secretary General of the party in

, and Provincial Secretary General for

from 1992 to 1993.

Political career

Early political career

Simultaneously with his college education, Quesada served in a variety of positions within the

's Regional Committee. In 1985, he rose to the position of Deputy Regional Secretary General of the party in

, and Provincial Secretary General for

from 1992 to 1993. In 1999, the party National Convention elected Quesada as Secretary of Organization, serving in the position until his election as

's first democratically elected governor. Elected Mayor of the Province of

in 1993, he lost reelection in 1995. In the 2002 regional elections, he was elected as the first Governor of

. He failed to attain reelection in 2006 regional elections.

Second García Administration

In 2007, he was appointed by the

Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the American Popula ...

's administration as Director of the Informal Property Formalization Agency (COFOPRI). During his tenure, he was subject to controversy amidst irregularities in his management of the government agency, being accused of allowing a property in southern

to be sold for US$1750. A case was opened against him and six other agency officials. He resigned on 24 April 2010.

Institutional Secretary General

Upon his resignation from COFOPRI, Quesada was elected at the party's 2010 National Convention as Institutional Secretary General, alongside

Jorge Del Castillo Jorge Alfonso Alejandro del Castillo Gálvez (born 2 July 1950) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician. In his career, he has served in the now abolished Peruvian Chamber of Deputies between 1990 and 1992, in the unicameral Congress of the Republi ...

as Political Secretary General. In his seven-year tenure in the party leadership, he oversaw the ceremonies for the

American Popular Revolutionary Alliance The Peruvian Aprista Party (, PAP) () is a Peruvian social-democratic political party and a member of the Socialist International. The party was founded as the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (, APRA) by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Tor ...

's 90th Anniversary in 2014. At the 2016 general election, he was slated to run for a seat in the

Andean Parliament The Andean Parliament is the governing and deliberative body of the Andean Community, conformed by representatives of its four member states Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and one associate member, Chile. It is composed of 25 parliamentari ...

with the Popular Alliance list. At the same time, Quesada dealt with the Christian People's Party on sealing negotiations in order to confirm the electoral coalition with his party and

's presidential nomination. Upon the election results, he was not elected to the Andean Parliament and announced the dissolution of the coalition on 11 April 2016, following the poor results attained by the presidential ticket. Quesada served as Institutional Secretary General until the 2017 convention elected his successor, three-term congressman

Elías Rodríguez Elías Nicolás Rodríguez Zavaleta (born 22 July 1974) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served in Congress representing La Libertad region from 2006 until the dissolution of Congress by president Martín Vizcarra in 2019. A former me ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quesada, Omar 1965 births People from Trujillo, Peru 20th-century Peruvian lawyers American Popular Revolutionary Alliance politicians Living people Regional government of Ayacucho