Cablegate: Bio Info for New Goe Government Minister

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS QUITO 000484

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/AND, INR/B

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EC
SUBJECT: BIO INFO FOR NEW GOE GOVERNMENT MINISTER

REF: QUITO 2959

1. (U) On February 22, President Lucio Gutierrez swore in
former Secretary General for the Administration Xavier
Ledesma as his new minister of government, replacing Jaime
Damerval, who resigned a day before (Reftel). He is the
fifth person to hold this cabinet position since Gutierrez
assumed office in January 2003.

2. (U) Ledesma, 56, graduated from the Catholic University
of Guayaquil with a degree in Political and Social Sciences.
He began his professional career in that city, winning the
municipal secretary generalship in 1972. In 1973, he earned
the presidency of the Law School Association of his alma
mater. His political career began a year later as a member
of the Democratic Left Party (ID). Ledesma eventually became
ID party chief in Guayaquil and, in 1986, national director.
He also served as an ID congressional deputy from 1979 to
1984.

3. (U) Ledesma subsequently abandoned the ID, joining forces
with eventual President Sixto Duran-Ballen (1993-97) and his
center-right Republican Unity Party (PUR). Representing the
PUR, he won a congressional seat in 1992. During this second
legislative stint, Ledesma was chairman of the Labor and
Social Affairs Committee. In 1995, he left congress for the
cabinet, becoming Duran-Ballen's minister of government in
1995.

4. (U) Ledesma is married to the former Monica Velasquez and
has two sons and one daughter. He speaks some English,
having spent a year of high school in England. Ledesma has
acknowledged serious health problems in the past, and
recently received medical treatment (reportedly for glaucoma)
in the United States.

COMMENT
-------

5. (SBU) Ledesma is a skillful tactician, but has weak
inter-personal skills and is introverted. He gained the
confidence of President Lucio Gutierrez by engineering his
counter-attack on the opposition and takeover of the courts
after a failed impeachment attempt in November 2004.
Lesdesma has maintained cordial relations with the Embassy
and is reputed to have good relations with the main
opposition Social Christian Party (PSC).
KENNEY

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