Hello again! In today’s post, we’ll talk about a man who I would probably call Peru’s most loved politician in the last couple of decades; Francisco Sagasti. (Fun fact, he is my neighbor).

Francisco Rafael Sagasti Hochhausler was born on October 10th, 1944, in the city of Lima. His parents are Francisco Sagasti Miller and Elsa Hochhausler Reinisch, and his grandfather is, Francisco Sagasti Saldaña, a veteran of the War of the Pacific.

Sagasti finished his secondary education at La Salle School in Lima and attended the (Peruvian) National University of Engineering where he earned a degree in Industrial Engineering. Two years later, he enrolled at Penn State University and attained a master’s degree also in Industrial Engineering. Furthermore, he also completed a Ph.D. program in Operations Research and Social Systems Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1972, Francisco served as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Technological, Industrial Research and Technical Standards of Peru and as an advisor to the Minister of Industry. During this time, Peru was governed by the revolutionary government of the Armed Forces, a military dictatorship.

In 1976, he married a Chilean woman named Leonor Giusti and adopted her four daughters but they divorced in 1992. In 1993, he remarried Costa Rican politician Silvia Charpentier Brenes and had a daughter with her. The couple divorced in 2005. It is said that he married a third time and divorced but not much is known about this.

From 1978 until 1992, he was involved in a variety of advisory positions internationally. Sagasti was the advisor to the Vice President of the International Development Research Center in Bogotá;  a guest lecturer to multiple Ivy League universities for the Fulbright Program; president of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development; and later working in the World Bank as Chief of the Strategic Planning Division and Senior Advisor to the Policy Evaluation and External Relations Departments.

Sagasti returned to Peru during the 1992 Constitutional Crisis (Ex-president Alberto Fujimori’s self-coup d’etat) and became a strong advocate against Fujimori. Four years later, he was taken hostage by the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (A guerrilla terrorist group) during the Japanese Embassy hostage crisis.

Here, he became a very controversial figure as he was quickly released due to his minor political relevance at the time but brought back with him a diary with the signatures of the kidnappers. Many considered the signatures to be ‘autographs’ and Sagasti was publicly shamed for ‘supporting’ terrorists and attention-seeking behavior.

Nevertheless, he continued serving in government positions such as President of the Board of Directors of the Science and Technology Program until 2013. In 2016, he helped found and operated as the ideological leader of Peru’s Purple Party (A center-left political party). In March 2020, he was elected to Congress and was a very vocal advocate against the impeachment of Martín Vizcarra. In November of the same year, he was selected as President of Congress.

Due to the lack of a 1st or 2nd vice president, after Manuel Merino’s resignation, Francisco Sagasti was elected as (acting) President of the Republic in November 2020.

One of his most recognizable actions as president was the reformation of the National Police due to their use of violence against protestors (And their responsibility for the deaths of protestors). He removed the Commander General and eighteen more generals. Two ministers resigned in protest and former heads of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and former general commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force denounced his decision and supported the claim that the protestors had initiated the violence. Nevertheless, this reform was very well received by the public.

Furthermore, he is attributed with probably the best management of the Covid-19 pandemic as he secured 48 million vaccines and did not face any corruption accusation afterward (Unlike Vizcarra).

Other characteristics that promoted his support in the country were his political stances; he openly supported the removal of parliamentary immunity, same-sex marriage equality (Which is still illegal), and abortion rights for rape.

Due to his support and likeability with Peruvians, he was given a variety of affectionate nicknames.

Don Quij(x)ote, due to his resemblance to the fictional character, and ‘the old KFC man’ (Many thought he also resembled the old man in the fast food chain logo), Bolognesi (Due to his resemblance to the Peruvian war hero), Dr. Strange, etc.

On the 28th of July 2021, Francisco Sagasti completed the 2016-2021 presidential term (Which began with the election of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and had four different presidents) and was succeeded by Pedro Castillo.