Raquel Zelaya

Raquel Zelaya
Zelaya in 2017
Presidential Secretary of Peace
In office
1997–2000
PresidentAlvaro Arzú
Minister of Public Finance in the Government of Guatemala
In office
16 April 1991 – 14 January 1991
Preceded byMarciano Castillo González
Succeeded byRichard Aitkenhead Castillo
Personal details
Born (1945-08-21) 21 August 1945 (age 81)
EducationRafael Landívar University

Irma Raquel Zelaya Rosales (born 21 August 1945) is a Guatemalan economist and politician. She was Minister of Public Finance in Government of Guatemala in 1991, participated in the signing of the Firm and Lasting Peace Agreement at the end of the Guatemalan Civil War in 1996, and was Presidential Secretary of Peace from 1997 to 2000.

Biography

Zelaya holds a degree in economics from Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala City.

Zelaya was Minister of Public Finance in the Government of Guatemala, from 14 January 1991 to 16 April 1991. She resigned due to disagreements with president Jorge Serrano Elías[citation needed] and because of receiving anonymous death threats linked to her anti-corruption campaigns. She was succeeded as Finance Minister by Richard Aitkenhead Castillo.

After the conclusion of the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), Zelaya participated in the signing of the Firm and Lasting Peace Agreement on 29 December 1996, as Executive Secretary. She was appointed as Presidential Secretary of Peace (SEPAZ) [es] in the government of Alvaro Arzú, from 1997 to 2000.

After her political career, Zelaya founded the non-profit and academic think tank Association for Research and Social Studies (Spanish: Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales, ASIES), of which she is executive director. She was also a member of the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund Commission.

In 2015, Zelaya was on the shortlist to be elected as Vice President of Guatemala, but Alfonso Fuentes Soria was elected to the office.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Alvarez, Carlos (3 September 2015). "Maldonado Aguirre revela su terna vicepresidencial". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 November 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 González, Ana Lucía (26 January 2022). "Raquel Zelaya: El proceso de paz es hijo de su tiempo". La Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  3. ↑ This Week in Central America. Vol. 14. This Week Publications. 1991. p. 90.
  4. ↑ Dunkerley, James (1994). The Pacification of Central America: Political Change in the Isthmus, 1987-1993. Verso. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-86091-423-5.
  5. ↑ Country Report: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras. The Unit. 1991. p. 16.
  6. ↑ "Raquel Zelaya: "Nunca las guerras han sido las soluciones", dice al recordar la firma de los Acuerdos de Paz". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). 29 December 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  7. ↑ Maddison, Sarah (19 June 2015). Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation: Multi-level Challenges in Deeply Divided Societies. Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-134-65403-1.
  8. ↑ "Congreso elegirá y juramentará al nuevo vicepresidente de Guatemala el jueves". SinEmbargo MX (in Spanish). 9 August 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2025.