Thelma Aldana
Thelma Aldana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 11thAttorney General of Guatemala | |
| In office May 17, 2014 – May 16, 2018 | |
| President | Otto Pérez Molina Alejandro Maldonado Jimmy Morales |
| Preceded by | Claudia Paz y Paz |
| Succeeded by | María Consuelo Porras |
| 55thPresident of the Supreme Court of Justice of Guatemala | |
| In office October 13, 2011 – October 13, 2012 | |
| President | Álvaro Colom Otto Pérez Molina |
| Preceded by | Arturo Archila |
| Succeeded by | Gabriel Medrano |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández 27 September 1955 Gualán,Zacapa,Guatemala |
| Political party | Semilla |
| Residence | Guatemala City |
| Awards | Right Livelihood Award |
Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández(locally['telmaespe'ɾansaal'danaeɾ'nanðes];born 27 September 1955) is aGuatemalanjurist and politician who served as President of the Supreme Court from 2011 to 2012 and asattorney generalfrom 2014 to 2018.
Early life and education
[edit]Thelma Aldana was born inGualán,eastern Guatemala, in 1955. She is daughter of Humberto Aldana Vidal, a pharmacy attendant, and Marta Julia Hernández Garza, a rural teacher.[1]In 1982 Aldana graduated with a lawyer and notary degree from theUniversity of San CarlosinQuetzaltenango.She has aMaster's degreein Civil and ProceduralLaw.[2]
Career
[edit]She started her career in 1981 as a janitor in aFamily Courtin Quetzaltenango.[2][3][4]In 1999 she was appointed judge in a court of appeals.[2]In 2009 she became a magistrate in theSupreme Court.She served as the president of the Supreme Court from 2011-2012. In 2014 she replacedClaudia Paz y Pazas Guatemala’sattorney general.She is married.[5]
Courts for violence against women
[edit]In 2011, when she was president of the Supreme Court, Aldana started specialcourtsin Guatemala forfemicidecases. Killing women, andviolence against womenare rampant in Guatemala; every year there are on the average 56,000 reports of violence against women.[6]Eleven districts now have the special courts. Judges and police officers receive specialgendercrimetraining.
Against corruption
[edit]In 2015 Aldana led another investigation into governmentcorruption.[7]In this, she closely cooperated with the Commissioner of the UNInternational Commission against Impunity in Guatemala(CICIG),Iván Velásquez Gómez.As a result, the President of Guatemala,Otto Pérez Molina,was forced to resign.[8]
Presidential campaign
[edit]In 2019, Aldana entered thepresidential election,campaigning on the platform of anti-corruption with new party Semilla. However, on 15 May, theConstitutional Courtrejected her candidacy for President, since she had been charged with corruption, despite no evidence being presented. It's believed that the charges were presented to stop her candidacy and an eventual presidency since she was the front-runner.[9]
Awards
[edit]In 2015 Aldana won the Jaime Brunet Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights from thePublic University of Navarra.The prize was for her work for women's rights, against gender violence, and for the rights of theindigenous peoples,as well as against political corruption. The prize was 36,000 euros.[10]
In 2016 she was recognised with anInternational Women of Courage Awardby the US Secretary of State.[11]
In 2018 she was awarded theRight Livelihood Awardalong withIván Velásquez Gómezfor "their innovative work [with CICIG] in exposing abuse of power and prosecuting corruption, thus rebuilding people’s trust in public institutions."[12]
See also
[edit]- Beatriz Ofelia de León- First female president of the Supreme Court of Guatemala
- Silvia Valdés- Third female president of the Supreme Court of Guatemala
- María Consuelo Porras- Attorney General of Guatemala
- List of the first women holders of political offices in North America
References
[edit]- ^Arrazola, Carlos (9 May 2014)."La favorita según muchos, la más preparada según ella"[The favorite to many, the most prepared according to her].Plaza Pública.Guatemala.Retrieved17 Apr2023.
- ^abc"Licda. Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández".Organismo Judicial de Guatemala.Archived fromthe originalon 19 Aug 2016.Retrieved17 Apr2023.
- ^Jaramillo, Velia (2017-08-23)."Thelma Aldana, la fiscal más Desafiante"[Thelma Aldana, the most defiant prosecutor].Estrategia y Negocios (E&N).Retrieved20 July2022.
- ^"Thelma Aldana narra anécdota de cuando fue conserje en un juzgado"[Thelma Aldana narrates anecdote when she was a court janitor].Soy502.7 March 2017.Retrieved20 July2022.
- ^"Guatemala's attorney-general".The Economist.22 May 2014.
- ^"Where women are killed by their own families".BBC News.5 December 2015.
- ^Carlos Dada (4 September 2015)."Corruption Charges Turn Guatemala Upside Down".The New Yorker.
- ^"AQ Top 5 Corruption Busters: Thelma Aldana - Americas Quarterly".
- ^Cuffe, Sandra (15 May 2019)."Guatemala court rules popular anti-corruption crusader ineligible to run for president".Washington Post.Retrieved16 May2019.
- ^EUROPA PRESS. PAMPLONA (10 December 2015)."UPNA - La fiscal general de Guatemala, Premio Brunet de la UPNA".diariodenavarra.es.
- ^Guatemala’s Women: Moving Their Country Forward « Central America Network,centralamericanetwork.org
- ^3 Saudi human rights activists awarded "Alternative Nobel",JAN M. OLSEN,Fox News,September 24, 2018
- 1955 births
- Living people
- People from Zacapa Department
- Guatemalan women judges
- 21st-century Guatemalan judges
- Attorneys general of Guatemala
- Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni
- Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award
- Female justice ministers
- 21st-century Guatemalan women politicians
- 21st-century Guatemalan politicians
- Women chief justices
- Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice of Guatemala
- Movimiento Semilla politicians