Eduardo Rodríguez

Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé
79th President of Bolivia
In office
June 9, 2005 – January 22, 2006
Vice President Vacant
Preceded by Carlos Mesa
Succeeded by Evo Morales
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bolivia
In office
March 17, 2004 – June 9, 2005
Preceded by Armando Villafuerte Claros
Succeeded by Héctor Sandóval Parada
Personal details
Born (1956-03-02) March 2, 1956
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Nationality Bolivian
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Fanny Elena Arguedas
Alma mater University of San Simón
Harvard University

Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé (born March 2, 1956) is a Bolivian judge. During the 2005 political crisis in Bolivia, he briefly assumed the Presidency. Prior to that, he was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Background

Born in Cochabamba in 1956, Rodríguez is a lawyer and holds a master's degree in public administration. He studied at Colegio San Agustín; later he studied law at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón in Cochabamba and obtained his Master of Public Administration at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Rodríguez is an ambassador to the International Court of Justice.[1]

Events of 2005

In 2005, after weeks of civil unrest led by Evo Morales, former president Carlos Mesa offered his resignation to Congress. Hormando Vaca Diez and Mario Cossío, who were presidents of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, respectively, were forced by protestors to decline the post. Rodríguez, as head of the judiciary and fourth in the line of succession, became the country's new president on June 10, 2005; he was inaugurated with the constitutional mandate to call elections within one year's time.

Rodríguez's time in office ended with the inauguration of Evo Morales in January 2006, following the victory of Morales in the presidential election of the previous month.

Treason charges

Under the Morales administration, Rodriguez has been charged with treason following the decommissioning of missiles during his term in office.[2] Bolivia bought about 30 HN-5 shoulder-launched missiles from China in 1993 or 1998.[3][4][5] By 2005 they had become obsolete and Rodriguez made the decision to destroy them; he says he did not know the United States would be the ones to be given the missiles for destruction.[3] Before taking office, Morales charged that the transfer amounted to putting the country "under foreign domination."[6]

He was charged with treason in 2006, which carries a 30-year prison term.[7] He has since been cleared of all charges.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist/RTV/2013/04/03/RTV010195118/RTV010195118-121
  2. ↑ People's justice The Economist, 31 March 2010.
  3. 1 2 Bolivia accuses US of taking missiles
  4. ↑ Ejercito Ecuatoriano incauta misil antiaéreo destinado a las FARC ~ Webinfomil
  5. ↑ Los misiles chinos de los bolivianos - NuevaMayoria.com
  6. ↑ Bolivia's Defense Chiefs Ousted in Missile Scandal
  7. ↑ Bolivian Ex-President Faces Treason Charges
Political offices
Preceded by
Carlos Mesa		 President of Bolivia
2005 – 2006		 Succeeded by
Evo Morales
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