Calderón Hinojosa, Felipe << kahl day ROHN ee noh HOH sah, fay LEE pay >> (1962-…), served as president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012. He was elected in July 2006 by a margin of less than 1 percent over his nearest rival, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. After the election, López Obrador filed legal complaints, and his supporters protested for weeks in Mexico City. Nevertheless, Mexico’s top election court declared Calderón the official winner. Calderón took office in December 2006. A member of the National Action Party (PAN), he succeeded Vicente Fox Quesada, also a PAN member. Enrique Peña Nieto succeeded Calderón as president in December 2012.
Calderón was born on Aug. 18, 1962, in Morelia, in the state of Michoacán. His father was a PAN cofounder in the 1930’s, and Felipe helped distribute PAN literature as a child. Calderón served in the assembly for Mexico’s Federal District from 1988 to 1991. He served in Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies from 1991 to 1994 and from 2000 to 2003. He ran for governor of Michoacán in 1995 but lost. From 1996 to 1999, he was president of the PAN. During Fox’s presidential term, which lasted from 2000 to 2006, Calderón served first as head of Banobras, a state-owned development bank, and later as energy secretary. He has advanced degrees in law, economics, and public administration.
