Thelma Aldana

Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández (locally ['telma espe'ɾansa al'dana eɾ'nanðes]; born 27 September 1955) is a Guatemalan jurist and politician, former President of the Supreme Court and former Attorney General.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Aldana and the second or maternal family name is Hernández.
Thelma Aldana
11th Attorney General of Guatemala
In office
May 17, 2014 – May 16, 2018
PresidentOtto Pérez Molina
Alejandro Maldonado
Jimmy Morales
Preceded byClaudia Paz y Paz
Succeeded byMaría Consuelo Porras
55th President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Guatemala
In office
October 13, 2011 – October 13, 2012
PresidentÁlvaro Colom
Otto Pérez Molina
Preceded byArturo Archila
Succeeded byGabriel Medrano
Personal details
Born
Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández

(1955-09-27) 27 September 1955
Gualán, Zacapa, Guatemala
Political partySemilla
ResidenceGuatemala City
AwardsRight Livelihood Award

Life

Aldana was born in Gualán, eastern Guatemala, in 1955. She graduated from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala. She has a Master's degree in Civil and Procedural Law.[1] In 2009, she became a judge in the Supreme Court. She served as the president of the Supreme Court from 2011-2012. In 2014 she replaced the highly effective Claudia Paz y Paz as Guatemala’s attorney general. She is married.[2]

Courts for violence against women

In 2011, when she was president of the Supreme Court, Aldana started special courts in Guatemala for femicide cases. Killing women, and violence against women are rampant in Guatemala; every year there are on the average 56,000 reports of violence against women.[3] Eleven districts now have the special courts. Judges and police officers receive special gender crime training.

Against corruption

In 2015 Aldana led another investigation into government corruption.[4] In this, she closely cooperated with the Commissioner of the UN International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Iván Velásquez Gómez. As a result, the President of Guatemala, Otto Pérez Molina, was forced to resign.[5]

Presidential campaign

In 2019, Aldana entered the presidential election, campaigning on the platform of anti-corruption with new party Semilla. However, on 15 May, the Constitutional Court rejected her candidacy for President, since she had been charged by a judge, with no evidence. It’s believed that the charges were presented to stop her candidacy and an eventual administration since she was the front runner .[6]

Awards

In 2015 Aldana won the Jaime Brunet Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights from the Public University of Navarra. The prize was for her work for women's rights, against gender violence, and for the rights of the indigenous peoples, as well as against political corruption. The prize was 36,000 euros.[7]

In 2016 she was recognised with an International Women of Courage Award by the US Secretary of State.[8]

Aldana was a presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, but was disqualified by the Constitutional Court due to charges of corruption.[6]

References
  1. Thelma Aldana Hernandez, gob.gt, Retrieved 14 July 2016
  2. "Guatemala's attorney-general". The Economist. 22 May 2014.
  3. "Where women are killed by their own families". BBC News.
  4. Carlos Dada (4 September 2015). "Corruption Charges Turn Guatemala Upside Down". The New Yorker.
  5. "AQ Top 5 Corruption Busters: Thelma Aldana - Americas Quarterly".
  6. Cuffe, Sandra (15 May 2019). "Guatemala court rules popular anti-corruption crusader ineligible to run for president". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  7. EUROPA PRESS. PAMPLONA (10 December 2015). "UPNA - La fiscal general de Guatemala, Premio Brunet de la UPNA". diariodenavarra.es.
  8. Guatemala’s Women: Moving Their Country Forward « Central America Network, centralamericanetwork.org
Legal offices
Preceded by
Claudia Paz y Paz		 Attorney General of Guatemala
2014–2018		 Succeeded by
María Consuelo Porras
Preceded by
Luis Arturo Archila		 President of the Supreme Court of Justice
2011–2012		 Succeeded by
Gabriel Antonio Medrano
Party political offices
Preceded by
None		 Semilla Movement nominee for
President of Guatemala
2019		 Most recent
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Aleksandr Konovalov		 President of United Nations Convention
against Corruption
2017–2018		 Succeeded by
María Consuelo Porras
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