Lucrecia Hernández Mack

Lucrecia Hernández Mack (born November 16, 1973) is a Guatemalan physician and politician. In July 2016, she became the first woman to head the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance of Guatemala. In 2017, she resigned from her position in protest over President Jimmy Morales ordering the expulsion of United Nations anti-corruption investigator Iván Velásquez Gómez.[1]

Lucrecia Hernández Mack
Minister of Public Health and Social Assistance
In office
August 1, 2016 – August 27, 2017
PresidentJimmy Morales
Preceded byJosé Alfonso Cabrera
Succeeded byCarlos Soto Menegazzo
Deputy of the Congress of Guatemala
Assumed office
14 January 2020
ConstituencyNational List
Personal details
Born (1973-11-16) November 16, 1973
Guatemala City, Guatemala
NationalityGuatemalen
Political partySemilla
MotherMyrna Mack
Alma materUniversidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

She has worked as a consultant in several international organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization.[2]

Biography

She studied medicine at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. She also obtained a master's degree in Public Health at Rafael Landívar University.

She protested the presidency of Otto Pérez Molina.

Minister of Health

On July 27, 2016, she was appointed to replace Alfonso Cabrera as Minister of Public Health. Cabrera had announced his stepping down the week before, citing personal and health reasons.[3]

Hernández resigned in response to the President's call for expulsion of Iván Valásquez.[4] Velásquez at the time was serving as the head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala. She accused President Morales of being in favor of "impunity". Three vice-ministers, Adrián Chávez, Juan Carlos Verdugo Urrejola, and Édgar Rolando González Barreno, resigned with her.

Personal life

She is the daughter of Myrna Mack, a Guatemalan anthropologist.[5] In 1990, her mother was killed by a military death squad because of her criticism of the Guatemala government's treatment of the indigenous Maya peoples. Her mother's death later lead to a court case, Myrna Mack Chang v. Guatemala, where her family received compensation by the state.

Publications

See also

References
  1. "Guatemalan president orders out UN anti-corruption investigator". BBC. August 28, 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. Contreras, Geovanni (July 27, 2016). "Lucrecia Hernández Mack, nueva ministra de Salud". Prensa Libre. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. "Lucrecia Hernández Mack es la nueva ministra de Salud". La Hora. July 26, 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. Partlow, Joshua (August 27, 2017). "Guatemalan president attempts to kick out U.N. anti-corruption chief". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  5. Institute of Medicine; National Academy of Engineering; National Academy of Sciences (29 May 2003). Guatemala: Human Rights and the Myrna Mack Case. National Academies Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-309-18263-8.
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