Guillermo Endara
Encyclopedia
Guillermo David Endara Galimany (May 12, 1936 – September 28, 2009) was the President of Panama from 1989 to 1994. He ran for office in 2004 and 2009 but lost to the former President Martin Torrijos
and to the incumbent President Ricardo Martinelli
.
. His middle-class parents had been allies of Authentic Panameñista Party
founder Arnulfo Arias
, and the family went into exile after Arias was overthrown in a 1941 coup. He went to school in Argentina and a military school in Los Angeles, and later studied as a pre-med at University of Tulane and attended the University of Panama Law School (where he graduated first in his class). He then received a subsequent LLM degree from New York University
. He returned to Panama in 1963 to practice law, served two terms in the Panamanian National Assembly and taught law at the university. In 1968 Endara served as Arias's minister of planning and economic policy during his brief third term. When Arias was overthrown again in October 1968, Endara went underground, was jailed in 1971, and joined the deposed executive in exile until the political ban on Arias was lifted in 1978. He remained politically engaged and when Arias died in 1988, Endara became a leading opposition figure.
In the Panamanian presidential election of 1989, Endara ran as the candidate of an alliance of parties against Carlos Duque, the candidate of a pro-Noriega coalition. The Endara alliance organized a count of results from the country's election precincts before they were sent to the district centers, allegedly to safeguard against vote-rigging. This count organized by the Endara alliance showed Endara defeating Carlos Duque by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, the highest in Panamanian electoral history. Noriega had planned to declare Duque the winner regardless of the actual results, but Duque refused to go along. Due to Duque's refusal, Noriega called off the election and declared the results void. The next day, Endara and one of his running mates, Guillermo Ford
, were badly beaten by a detachment of Dignity Battalions
.
The United States
overthrew Noriega's regime in Operation Just Cause
on December 20, 1989. Endara had by this time taken refuge in the Panama Canal Zone
which was under American Military control, where a judge swore him in as president.
, pressing for $1 billion in emergency relief aid and cooperative measures to curtail the Panamanian narcotics trade. He restored confidence in the banking industry, reduced unemployment, and struggled to address narcotrafficking and violent crime. His administration has faced criticism for being dominated by wealthy businessmen or by initially overshadowing U.S. influence.
Later, Endara distanced himself from the party on account of differences of opinion with party leader Mireya Moscoso
, Arias' widow. He ran in the 2004 Panamanian presidential election as the candidate of the Solidarity Party
. He finished second to Martín Torrijos
, receiving 30.9% of the vote.
He later founded his own political party Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
, and was an official candidate for the Panamanian general elections
. In that election, he came in a distant third place, receiving 2.3% of the vote.
Just a few months later, on September 28, 2009, Endara died aged 73 at his home in Panama City
, of a heart attack
.
Martín Torrijos
Martín Erasto Torrijos Espino is a Panamanian politician and the former President of the Republic of Panama.Torrijos was elected President on May 2, 2004...
and to the incumbent President Ricardo Martinelli
Ricardo Martinelli
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal is a Panamanian politician and businessman who was elected the 49th President of Panama in 2009. He is a Panamanian of Italian descent from his father's side.- Early life :...
.
Biography
Endara was born in 1936 in PanamáPanama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. His middle-class parents had been allies of Authentic Panameñista Party
Panameñista Party
- Founding and early history :The party is the oldest in Panama. It was founded in 1932 by Arnulfo Arias Madrid, a prominent medical , as the National Revolutionary Party. Its membership largely came from Patriotic Communal Action, a nationalist organization that opposed the large amount of...
founder Arnulfo Arias
Arnulfo Arias
Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid was president of Panama on three occasions: 1940–41, 1949–51, and for two weeks in October 1968.- Origins :...
, and the family went into exile after Arias was overthrown in a 1941 coup. He went to school in Argentina and a military school in Los Angeles, and later studied as a pre-med at University of Tulane and attended the University of Panama Law School (where he graduated first in his class). He then received a subsequent LLM degree from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. He returned to Panama in 1963 to practice law, served two terms in the Panamanian National Assembly and taught law at the university. In 1968 Endara served as Arias's minister of planning and economic policy during his brief third term. When Arias was overthrown again in October 1968, Endara went underground, was jailed in 1971, and joined the deposed executive in exile until the political ban on Arias was lifted in 1978. He remained politically engaged and when Arias died in 1988, Endara became a leading opposition figure.
In the Panamanian presidential election of 1989, Endara ran as the candidate of an alliance of parties against Carlos Duque, the candidate of a pro-Noriega coalition. The Endara alliance organized a count of results from the country's election precincts before they were sent to the district centers, allegedly to safeguard against vote-rigging. This count organized by the Endara alliance showed Endara defeating Carlos Duque by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, the highest in Panamanian electoral history. Noriega had planned to declare Duque the winner regardless of the actual results, but Duque refused to go along. Due to Duque's refusal, Noriega called off the election and declared the results void. The next day, Endara and one of his running mates, Guillermo Ford
Guillermo Ford
Guillermo "Billy" Ford Boyd was a Vice President of Panama. He was one of the running mates of presidential candidate Guillermo Endara during the 1989 Panamanian election campaign...
, were badly beaten by a detachment of Dignity Battalions
Dignity Battalions
The Dignity Battalions were paramilitary combatants created by Panama's military government in the 1980s to help train workers and farmers to defend Panama against invasion by the United States...
.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
overthrew Noriega's regime in Operation Just Cause
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
on December 20, 1989. Endara had by this time taken refuge in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
which was under American Military control, where a judge swore him in as president.
Later life
Endara is also noted for staging a public hunger strike to call attention to poverty and homelessness left in the wake of the Noriega years. He visited then U.S. President George BushGeorge H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, pressing for $1 billion in emergency relief aid and cooperative measures to curtail the Panamanian narcotics trade. He restored confidence in the banking industry, reduced unemployment, and struggled to address narcotrafficking and violent crime. His administration has faced criticism for being dominated by wealthy businessmen or by initially overshadowing U.S. influence.
Later, Endara distanced himself from the party on account of differences of opinion with party leader Mireya Moscoso
Mireya Moscoso
Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias is a Panamanian political figure. She was the President of Panama from 1999 to 2004, representing the Arnulfista Party...
, Arias' widow. He ran in the 2004 Panamanian presidential election as the candidate of the Solidarity Party
Solidarity Party (Panama)
The Solidarity Party was a political party in Panama that recently merged with the National Liberal Party and formed the new Patriotic Union Party ....
. He finished second to Martín Torrijos
Martín Torrijos
Martín Erasto Torrijos Espino is a Panamanian politician and the former President of the Republic of Panama.Torrijos was elected President on May 2, 2004...
, receiving 30.9% of the vote.
He later founded his own political party Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
Vanguardia Moral de la Patria is a relatively new Panamanian political party led by Guillermo Endara who was a candidate for the presidential elections of 2009....
, and was an official candidate for the Panamanian general elections
Panamanian general election, 2009
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Panama on May 3, 2009.The government-supported presidential candidate and member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party was the former Housing Minister Balbina Herrera. The Liberal Party and the People's Party were in alliance with the PRD, in...
. In that election, he came in a distant third place, receiving 2.3% of the vote.
Just a few months later, on September 28, 2009, Endara died aged 73 at his home in Panama City
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
, of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.