Mercedes Aráoz

In this Spanish name, the family name is Aráoz.

Mercedes Aráoz
File:Mercedes Araoz.jpg
Second Vice President of Peru
In office 28 July 2016 – 7 May 2020
President	Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Martín Vizcarra
Preceded by	Vacant (Last held by Omar Chehade in 2012)
Succeeded by	Vacant
Prime Minister of Peru
In office 17 September 2017 – 2 April 2018
President	Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Martín Vizcarra
Preceded by	Fernando Zavala
Succeeded by	César Villanueva
Member of Congress
In office 26 July 2016 – 30 September 2019
Constituency	Lima
Minister of Economy and Finance
In office 22 December 2009 – 14 September 2010
President	Alan García
Prime Minister	Javier Velásquez
Preceded by	Luis Carranza
Succeeded by	Ismael Benavides
Minister of Production
In office 11 July 2009 – 22 December 2009
President	Alan García
Prime Minister	Javier Velásquez
Preceded by	Elena Conterno
Succeeded by	José Gonzales Quijano
Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism
In office 28 July 2006 – 11 July 2009
President	Alan García
Prime Minister	Jorge Del Castillo Yehude Simon
Preceded by	Alfredo Ferrero
Succeeded by	Martín Pérez
Personal details
Born	(1961-08-05) 5 August 1961 Lima, Peru
Nationality	Peruvian
Political party	Independent Peruvian Aprista Party (before 2012)
Education	University of the Pacific (BA) University of Miami (MA, PhD)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Economist

Mercedes Rosalba Aráoz Fernández (born 5 August 1961) is a Peruvian economist, professor, and politician who served as Second Vice President of Peru from 2016 to 2020. At the beginning of her political career, she served as Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism from 2006 to July 2009, after which she was appointed briefly as Minister of Production, and finally as Minister of Economy and Finance, all portfolios under the second presidency of Alan García.

At the 2016 general election, Aráoz ran for the Second Vice Presidency along Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Martin Vizcarra in the Peruvians for Change ticket, being ultimately elected in a tight run-off against Keiko Fujimori's Popular Force ticket. Simultaneously, she was elected to Congress for the 2016–2021 term. In the Kuczynski administration, she was appointed Prime Minister, serving from 17 September 2017 to 2 April 2018. Kuczynski resigned on 23 March 2018, following a corruption scandal, thus making Martín Vizcarra the new President of Peru; Araóz subsequently acted as the only Vice President in the Vizcarra administration.

On 30 September 2019, a dispute between Vizcarra and the Congress of the Republic resulted in the dissolution of the Congress by the President, which in turn suspended Vizcarra and named Aráoz as Acting President. However, the suspension of Vizcarra was generally not recognized, forcing Aráoz to decline the claim to the presidency on 1 October 2019. Her resignation was accepted by Congress on 7 May 2020, leaving both Vice Presidencies vacant.

Early life and education

Aráoz was born in Lima. She attended to St. Mary's School in Magdalena del Mar, Lima. She studied economics at the University of the Pacific in Lima and later obtained a master's degree in economics and PhD in economics from the University of Miami School of Business at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, in the United States.

Aráoz completed specialization courses in foreign trade policies at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University and at the Latin American Network of Commercial Policy in Buenos Aires. She also studied Coaching at Newfield Network, Santiago de Chile.

Academic career

She is Principal Professor of International Economy at the University of the Pacific and member of the Research Center. She is also professor at the Diplomatic Academy of Peru.

She has worked as a consultant with a variety of international organizations including the World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the CAF – Development Bank of Latin America.

Aráoz served as Country Representative for the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Mexico City from 2011 until 2015.

Alan García administration (2006–2010)

Foreign Trade and Tourism (2006–2009)

On 28 July 2006, Aráoz was named as Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism. During her tenure, she fostered free trade negotiations with the European Union, EFTA, China, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Japan, among others.

Production (2009)

On 11 July 2009, Aráoz was named as Minister of Production after leaving the Foreign Trade and Tourism portfolio.

Economy and Finance (2009–2010)

In December 2009, Aráoz was named as Minister of Economy and Finance. She was the first woman in Peruvian history to hold this office.

During her 9 months of managing the Ministry, priority was given to the promotion of infrastructure and public services investment projects; likewise, the concessions of construction projects at national level were reviewed. During her term, the government maintained the growth of the Peruvian economy despite the global financial crisis.

2011 Peruvian Aprista Party presidential nomination

In November 2010, congressman Mauricio Mulder proposed Aráoz for the party's presidential nomination for the 2011 general election. In spite of her resignation as Finance Minister, she was propelled by the government to run for the nomination. She won the majority in at the party's national convention, and accepted the nomination on 28 November 2010. Despite criticism for selecting an independent pro-market liberal as the social democrat party's nominee, her run was viewed by analysts as an intent of propelling the party for future Alan García run in 2016, despite low chances of victory in 2011. As running mates, the party selected former prime minister and congressman Javier Velásquez (1st) and former cabinet minister and congresswoman Nidia Vílchez (2nd).

Throughout the internal process, however, Aráoz held many disagreements with high-ranking party leaders, such as former prime minister Jorge Del Castillo, who was ultimately selected as the head of the congressional list for the Lima constituency. Aráoz heavily criticized the decision of including among the congressional candidates Del Castillo, based on the corruption allegations imputed against him. This event would finally lead to her nomination withdrawal on 16 January 2011. The party would not field any candidate for the election, and Aráoz would retire momentarily from politics.

Congresswoman and Vice president

In the 2016 general election, Aráoz ran with the Peruvians for Change party as candidate both for Congress and for Second Vice President as running mate of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. She remains an independent within the Party. The ticket was successful and Aráoz was elected Second Vice President

Vice presidency

In August 2016, Aráoz was appointed as chair of the APEC Peru 2016 High-Level Commission. The commission was made to determine necessary guidelines, strategies and measures to guarantee Peru's success as host of the meeting.

In August 2017, Aráoz was named as Commissioner for Peru-OECD adherence process.

Prime Minister of Peru

In September 2017, Aráoz was sworn in as President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister). She held the office until April 2018.

References

Political offices
Preceded by Luis Carranza	Minister of Economy and Finance 2009–2010	Succeeded by Ismael Benavides Ferreyros
Vacant Title last held by Omar Chehade	Second Vice President of Peru 2016–2020	Vacant
Preceded by Fernando Zavala	Prime Minister of Peru 2017–2018	Succeeded by César Villanueva