| Archbishop of Paraguay, President of Paraguay since August 15, 2008 Date of Birth: 30.05.1951 Country: Paraguay |
Fernando Lugo, the former Archbishop of Paraguay, served as the President of Paraguay from August 15, 2008. With 30 years of dedicated service to the church, Lugo made the decision to step down from his role as Archbishop in order to pursue his candidacy for the presidency. According to the Paraguayan constitution, a religious figure is not eligible to run for the presidency, thus Lugo had to relinquish his position as Archbishop, which was granted to him by the Pope.
In a message from his hometown of Encarnación, located 370 kilometers south of the country's capital, Asunción, Lugo announced his intention to run for the presidency as a candidate from the opposition. He expressed that he had been constantly encouraged to lead the opposition alliance in the fight for the presidential seat, and now he was ready to serve the Paraguayan people as a politician. At 55 years old, Fernando Lugo was well-known in Paraguay as a defender of the rights of the population in the central regions of the country. He had the potential to defeat the ruling party, the Colorado Party, which had been in power since 1947.
Having dedicated 30 years to serving the church, Lugo aimed to promote consensus among different ideological currents within the opposition alliance. He believed that ideology should take a backseat, stating that he did not align himself with either the left or the right. Fernando Lugo was seen as a representative of the progressive movement within the Paraguayan Catholic Church. Despite the constitutional limitations, Lugo was determined to bring about change and serve the Paraguayan people in his new role as a politician.