Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García

His Excellency General of Division Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García
Defense Secretary of Guatemala
In office 1972–1973
President	General Carlos Arana Osorio
President of Guatemala
In office July 1, 1974 – July 1, 1978
Preceded by	Carlos Arana Osorio
Succeeded by	Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia
Personal details
Born	January 24, 1930
Died	December 9, 2009 (aged 79)

Brigadier General Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García (24 January 1930 – 9 December 2009) was President of Guatemala from 1 July 1974 to 1 July 1978. He was the son of a Norwegian father and Guatemalan mother.

Laugerud received part of his military training in the United States, attending classes at Fort Benning, Georgia, and at Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as Guatemalan delegate to the Inter-American Defense Board between 1968 and 1970.^[1]

Laugerud had been chief of the army staff and defense minister under President Carlos Arana since 1972, then was elected president in a March 1974 vote that was marred by violence and charges of fraud. His candidature had been endorsed by both the military-backed Institutional Democratic Party and the far right National Liberation Movement. During his term, Guatemala experienced a disastrous earthquake in 1976, and had continuing disputes with neighboring Belize. In 1977, after the Carter administration published a report critical of the human rights situation in Guatemala, Laugerud announced that the country would no longer accept US military aid. Guatemala did in fact receive funds that had already been appropriated for that year, and later turned to other nations, such as Israel, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Taiwan, and Yugoslavia for military aid and arms supplies.^[2]

Just before the end of his term, Laugerud was also faced with the consequences of a stand-off between Kekchi Indians and the military in Panzós, in which 53 unarmed civilians were killed by the Army, and another 47 were wounded.^[3]

In 1983, Laugerud and three other ex-presidents were forced to retire from the army.

References

1. United States. Southern Command. Brigadier General (Ret.) Kjell Laugerud Garcia. February 1976. Digital National Security Archive (DNSA).
2. http://shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ceh/mds/spanish/cap1/reorg.html#Ref198
3. http://assets.cambridge.org/052184/083X/excerpt/052184083X_excerpt.htm

External links

• Capsule biography From Rulers.org; search for "Laugerud"
• Guatemala Memoria del Silencio Historical Clarification Commission (Guatemala's Truth Commission) on 1971-78 (in Spanish)
• "Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García, Leader of Guatemala During ’76 Quake, Dies at 79". New York Times. December 11, 2009.