Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as President of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered to have shifted towards neoliberalism and the political centre during his presidency.
Born to a prominent political family affiliated with the ethnocacerist movement, Humala is the son of famed Quechua labour lawyer Isaac Humala. Humala entered the Peruvian Army in 1981, eventually achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. During his time in the military, he fought in the internal conflict against left-wing terrorist group Shining Path as well as in the Cenepa War with neighboring Ecuador. In October 2000, Humala attempted an unsuccessful coup d'etat against President Alberto Fujimori during the dying days of his regime; eventually, the Congress of the Republic of Peru granted him amnesty and Humala was allowed to return to military duty.
In 2005, Humala entered electoral politics, founding the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP) in order to run in the 2006 Peruvian general election. Having received first place in the first round, he faced former centre-left president and Peruvian Aprista Party nominee Alan García in the second round, ultimately losing by a narrow margin. His campaign received widespread international attention in 2006 given the pink tide in Latin America. In the 2011 Peruvian general election, he narrowly defeated Keiko Fujimori in the runoff.
Humala's election initially concerned investors, who feared he would govern similar to leftist Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, a former ally of his. To assuage these fears, Humala would begin his term by choosing centrists for positions in his cabinet. Humala's unpopular presidency was dominated by corruption scandals surrounding him and his politically influential wife Nadine Heredia. Environmentalists were highly critical of Humala's mining policies, and argued that he reneged on his campaign promise to rein in mining companies.
In 2017, Humala was arrested by Peruvian authorities on corruption charges. Humala attempted a political comeback in the 2021 presidential election, but only received 1.5% of the vote, finishing in 13th place.
Early life, family, and education
Humala was born in Lima, Peru on 27 June 1962. His father Isaac Humala, who is of Quechua ethnicity, is a labour lawyer, member of the Communist Party of Peru – Red Fatherland, and ideological leader of the Ethnocacerista movement. Ollanta's mother is Elena Tasso, from an old Italian family established in Peru at the end of the 19th century. He is the brother of Antauro Humala, now serving a 25-year prison sentence for kidnapping 17 Police officers for 3 days and killing 4 of them and in 2020 was responsible for the removal of former President Martín Vizcarra, and professor Ulises Humala. Humala was born in Peru and attended the French-Peruvian school Franco-Peruano, and later the "Colegio Cooperativo La Union," established by part of the Peruvian-Japanese community in Lima.
He began his military career in 1980 when he entered the Chorrillos Military School, like his brother Antauro (who had done so a year earlier). In 1983, he was a student at the School of the Americas (SOA), in the cadet combat course. He graduated as an Artillery lieutenant on 1 January 1984, forming part of the "Heroes of Pucará and Marcavalle" class.
In 1997, he earned the graduate diploma of PADE in Business Administration from ESAN Graduate School of Business. In 2001, he completed a master's degree at the Center for Higher National Studies (CAEN) in National Defense and in 2002, he successfully completed a master's degree in political science at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
Military career
In his military career, Humala was also involved in the two major Peruvian conflicts of the past 20 years, the battle against the insurgent organization Shining Path and the 1995 Cenepa War with Ecuador. In 1991, with the rank of captain, Humala served in Tingo María, Huanuco fighting the remnants of the Shining Path and in 1995 he served in the Cenepa War on the border with Ecuador.