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Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero (November 14, 1943 – April 4, 2020) was the 31st
President of Honduras The president of Honduras (), officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. According to the 1982 Constitution of H ...
from January 27, 1990 to January 27, 1994, representing the
National Party of Honduras The National Party of Honduras (PNH; ) is a conservative political party in Honduras founded on 27 February 1902, by Manuel Bonilla Chirinos. Historically it has been one of the two most influential parties in the country. The party's platform ...
(PNH).


Early life and education

Callejas was born on 14 November 1943 in
Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
in
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
. He studied agricultural economics at
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
becoming an expert on financial and economic issues connected to
agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
. At
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
, Callejas earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965 and a Masters of Science degree in 1966. Also in 1966,
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
's Department of Agricultural Economics published Callejas' thesis title
Hog Production Opportunities in Mississippi
In 1990, Callejas was named Mississippi State University's Alumni of the Year and was invited along with U.S. Vice President
Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
to deliver the university's commencement address.


Career

Between 1967 and 1971 Callejas worked at the Council for Economic Planning ( CONSUPLANE). In 1968, Callejas was made the Director of Economic Planning by the then President Oswaldo López. in 1975 another General and President, Juan Alberto Melgar, named Callejas Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources. When another general and President Policarpo Paz took over in a coup in 1978, Callejas remained in this post. During the transition to
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
culminating in November 1981 elections, which were won by the
Liberal Party of Honduras The Liberal Party of Honduras ( Spanish: ''Partido Liberal de Honduras)'' is a centrist liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. It is the oldest existent political party in the country; further, it is one of the two main ...
(PLH), he rose within the ranks of the
National Party of Honduras The National Party of Honduras (PNH; ) is a conservative political party in Honduras founded on 27 February 1902, by Manuel Bonilla Chirinos. Historically it has been one of the two most influential parties in the country. The party's platform ...
(PNH), and in 1982 presided over their central committee. He supported former President Ricardo Maduro's ''Unidad y Cambio'' (Unity and Change) movement within the PNH that brought the party more towards the center, and a liberal economic path. Callejas then created his own faction, the ''Movimiento Nacional Callejista'' (National Callejista Movement), to advance his candidature in the 1985 presidential elections. At the time both main political parties allowed various candidates to stand, and while Callejas gained the highest vote of any candidate with 42.6%, the PLH candidates gained 51.5% of the total vote, and therefore it was their most voted for candidate,
José Azcona del Hoyo José Simón Azcona del Hoyo (January 26, 1927 – October 24, 2005) was 30th President of Honduras from January 27, 1986 to January 27, 1990 for the Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH). He was born in La Ceiba in Honduras. Early life and career ...
, with 27.5% of the vote, who became president.


Football

Until 2015, Callejas was President of the
Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras The Honduras Football Federation (), known as FFH, is the official football governing body in Honduras and is in charge of the Honduras national team. FFH was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA the same year. It joined CONCACAF in 1961. As of April ...
(FENAFUTH). Under his tenure, Honduras qualified for the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
s in 2010 and 2014, the first time Honduras qualified for two consecutive World Cups. During his tenure, Honduras qualified for all major football soccer competitions in all age brackets, including the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
.


President of Honduras (1990-1994)

His election in 1989 marked the first time since 1932 that power was transferred peacefully between Honduras' two major parties. Callejas was once again the PNH candidate in the 1989 elections where a reported 200,000 identifications from deceased Honduran citizens were used. Callejas won with 52.3% of the votes, becoming the first PNH President since 1972. He had to confront severe economic problems, and he followed the advice of the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
(IMF) by cutting public spending, resulting in many public servants being laid off, and by devaluing the Lempira. At the time of the devaluation of the Lempira, the Honduran Central Bank, presided over at the time by Ricardo Maduro Joest, did not have any dollars available to the general public. Instead, people were given back devalued Lempiras causing a great deal of hardship in what was already one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. Gasoline supplies were non-existent when he took office and long lines of cars were seen at the gas stations trying to obtain fuel. This led to many strikes and a lot of social agitation, until his government successfully negotiated with the United States the write-off of a $US430 million debt, in September 1991. He presided over a liberal reformist government, opened the Honduran economy to local and foreign investment and managed steady growth during the last three years of his presidency, although during the fourth year of his term fiscal indiscipline led to a new set of economic measures being imposed by the following government. Poverty was reduced by 8% under his tenure. Infrastructure was a priority and large investments in the rich
Sula Valley The Valley of Sula (also, Sula Valley) is the largest alluvial valley of Honduras. It is located in the northwest of the country, and within it lie several of Honduras's most important cities, such as San Pedro Sula, El Progreso, Choloma, Puer ...
area were made resulting in more than 90 kilometers of four-lane highways. His government had some important accomplishments in the social area, such as the creation of the Family Assistance Program (PRAF) and the Honduran Fund for Social Investment (FHIS). Expatriates of the previous Military and Liberal governments were allowed to return to Honduras, with no risk to their lives, and the irregular forces of the Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries, the
Contras In the history of Nicaragua, the Contras (Spanish: ''La contrarrevolución'', the counter-revolution) were the right-wing militias who waged anti-communist guerilla warfare (1979–1990) against the Marxist governments of the Sandinista Na ...
, were required to leave Honduras in April 1990 after intense negotiations.


Accusations

Callejas was accused of 7 counts of corruption during his term. He was also accused by an aide in the
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
administration, resulting in a Bush executive order denying him U.S. visa status. In 2005, the Honduran Congress revoked the law by which ex-Presidents, among other former officials, had legal immunity. Mr. Callejas voluntarily presented himself to court (first person to do so after the law was revoked). Mr. Callejas then faced trial. He was acquitted by the Honduran Judiciary of all of the counts which were presented against him. On 3 December 2015, Mr. Callejas was indicted in U.S. Federal Court in connection with the ongoing
2015 FIFA Corruption Case In 2015, United States federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption by officials and associates connected with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of association football, futsal and beach so ...
. 12 days later, he flew to the United States and was taken into custody. A few days later, he was released on bond. He was represented by the noted criminal defense attorney Manuel Retureta of Retureta & Wassem, PLLC in
Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. On 27 March 2016, he pleaded guilty to accepting $500,000 in bribes in 2012 to be shared with another football official. In December 2016, Callejas was banned for life by the
FIFA Ethics Committee The FIFA Ethics Committee is one of FIFA's three judicial bodies. It is organized in two chambers, the ''Investigatory Chamber'' and the ''Adjudicatory Chamber''. Its duties are regulated by several official documents, most importantly the ''FIFA ...
.


Death

Callejas died on 4 April 2020 of leukemia
Muere elexpresidente de Honduras Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero


Publications

*''Hog Production Opportunities in Mississippi'',
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
Department of Agricultural Economics, (
Starkville, MS Starkville is a city in and the county seat of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, Starkville's population is 24,360, making it the 16th-most populated city in Mississippi. Starkville is the largest ...
), 1966. *''Plan de Gobierno, 1990-1994: cambio : participación, bienestar y dignidad nacional'', República de Honduras, (
Tegucigalpa, Honduras Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
), 1990. *''Declaración del Gobierno de la República de Honduras sobre la prevención y el control del alcoholismo, la drogadicción y la farmacodependencia'', Instituto Hondureño para la Prevención del Alcoholismo, Drogadicción y Farmacodependencia, República de Honduras, (
Tegucigalpa, Honduras Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
), 1990. *''La Modernización del Estado: Exposiciones del Presidente de la República y los cuatro candidatos a la Presidencia, lunes 5 de julio de 1993'', República de Honduras, (
Tegucigalpa, Honduras Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
), 1993. *''Las Relaciones Entre Chile y Honduras: nuevas perspectivas a la luz del proceso de paz en Centroamérica'', Consejo Chileno para las Relaciones Internacionales, (
Tegucigalpa, Honduras Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
), 1993.


References


External links


Biography by CIDOB
(in Spanish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callejas Romero, Rafael Leonardo 1943 births 21st-century criminals Government ministers of Honduras Honduran economists Honduran politicians convicted of crimes Honduran Roman Catholics 2020 deaths National Party of Honduras politicians People convicted of bribery Politicians convicted of corruption 20th-century presidents of Honduras People from Tegucigalpa Members of the Order of Jamaica