Arzú Irigoyen, Álvaro Enrique, << ahr ZOO ee ruh GOY yahn, AHL vahr oh ayn REE kay >> (1946-2018), was president of Guatemala from 1996 to 2000. He became known for his successful negotiation of a 1996 peace agreement that ended a 36-year-long civil war between the Guatemalan government and leftist guerrillas of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). Arzú also won praise for reducing the traditional dominance of the armed forces in Guatemalan politics. He significantly decreased the size and responsibilities of the military and forced the retirement of dozens of military and police officers suspected of human rights abuses.
Arzú was born on March 14, 1946, in Guatemala City to a wealthy family. He attended Rafael Landivar University and later ran a successful travel agency. In 1978, Arzú took a government post as director of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism. He served as mayor of Guatemala City from 1986 to 1990 and earned a reputation for administrative efficiency in that office. Arzú helped found the National Advancement Party (PAN), a right-wing political party, in 1989. He ran for president in 1990 but lost. He then briefly served as Guatemala’s minister of foreign affairs in 1991. He resigned this post to become secretary-general of PAN, from which he launched his successful presidential campaign. Arzú died on April 27, 2018.
