Aníbal Torres Explained

Office:Prime Minister of Peru
President:Pedro Castillo
Term Start:8 February 2022
Term End:25 November 2022
Predecessor:Héctor Valer
Successor:Betssy Chávez
Office1:Minister of Justice and Human Rights
President1:Pedro Castillo
Primeminister1:Guido Bellido
Mirtha Vásquez
Héctor Valer
Term Start1:30 July 2021
Term End1:8 February 2022
Predecessor1:Eduardo Vega Luna
Successor1:Ángel Yldefonso
Birth Date:28 December 1942
Birth Place:Chota, Peru
Alma Mater:National University of San Marcos (LLB, MA, PhD)
Party:Independent

Aníbal Torres Vásquez (born 28 December 1942) is a Peruvian lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as prime minister of Peru from February 2022 to November 2022.[1] He was also Minister of Justice and Human Rights from July 2021 to February 2022 under the government of Pedro Castillo.[2]

Career

Torres was born in Chota, Cajamarca. He was a lawyer and university professor at the National University of San Marcos. He graduated as a lawyer in 1970 and as a doctor, in Law and Political Science, from the same university in 1987. He studied Civil and Commercial Law at the Universitá Degli Studi di Roma (1970–1971).[3]

He was director and dean of the Lima Bar Association, dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the National University of San Marcos, President of the Board of Deans of the Peruvian Bar Associations, honorary president of the Peruvian Academy of Laws, member of the Patriotic Commission for the Defense of the Mar de Grau, the Peruvian Institute of Air Law, the Academy of Aeronautical History of Peru, honorary member of the bar associations of Loreto, Puno, Cusco, Cajamarca, and Apurímac. He is the author of various publications on civil law and administrative law.[4]

Political career

2011 general election

At the 2011 Peruvian general election, Torres unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Peruvian Congress with Peru Wins for the constituency of Lima.[5]

2021 general election

Torres supported Yonhy Lescano, Popular Action's presidential nominee in the first round of the 2021 Peruvian general election.[6] For the second round of the general election, Torres became the main legal advisor for Pedro Castillo's presidential campaign. Castillo would ultimately win the election.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights

On 30 July 2021, Torres was appointed Minister of Justice and Human Rights by Pedro Castillo at the start of his presidential term.[7]

Prime Minister of Peru (2022)

On 8 February 2022, Torres was sworn in as Prime Minister of Peru, succeeding the short-lived and disgraced Héctor Valer in the position. He became the fourth cabinet head in less than a year in the Castillo administration.[8]

On 22 April 2022, Torres stated to the IV Decentralized Council of Ministers that "some senior military members speak in the same direction to carry out the coup d'état" against Castillo. He also stated they were planning to place "the lady who lost the elections" in power, in a clear reference to Keiko Fujimori and her loss in the 2021 general election.[9]

On 3 August 2022, Torres resigned as Prime Minister, claiming personal reasons. At the time, President Castillo was facing five separate criminal investigations.[10] The resignation was rejected by President Castillo.[11]

On 24 November 2022, Torres resigned again. It was accepted and Minister of Culture Betssy Chávez was selected by President Castillo to replace him.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Peru's PM resigns after confidence vote refused . 2022-11-25 . www.aljazeera.com . en.
  2. Web site: 2021-07-31. Pedro Francke y Aníbal Torres asumirán las carteras de Economía y Justicia . 2022-02-09. Gestión. es.
  3. Web site: Anibal Torres Vasquez. 2022-02-09. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. es.
  4. Web site: 2021-07-02. Aníbal Torres: "Yo no puedo olvidar mi origen, no puedo olvidar el Perú profundo". 2022-02-09. El Búho. Martha. Valencia. es.
  5. Web site: Políticos - Aníbal Torres. 2022-04-22. infogob.jne.gob.pe. es. 24 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220624214016/https://infogob.jne.gob.pe/Politico/FichaPolitico/anibal-torres-vasquez_procesos-electorales_xE6wJnVHRfU=6n/. dead.
  6. Isaac Bigio, « Perú: un cuarto gabinete busca aplacar a la derecha », América Latina en Movimiento, 10/02/2022
  7. Web site: Aníbal Torres es el nuevo ministro de Justicia y Derechos Humanos. 2022-02-09. andina.pe. 30 July 2021 . es.
  8. Web site: Peru President Names Fourth Prime Minister Since July. Bloomberg. Maria. Cervantes. 8 February 2022. 10 February 2022.
  9. Web site: April 22, 2022 . Aníbal Torres warned that there is a plan to carry out a military coup in Peru . 2022-04-22 . Infobae . es-ES.
  10. News: Peru PM resigns as investigations target President Castillo . Reuters . 3 August 2022 .
  11. News: 6 August 2022 . No Premier resignation by cabinet reshuffled anyway in Peru . MercoPress . live . 10 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220809070331/https://en.mercopress.com/2022/08/06/no-premier-resignation-by-cabinet-reshuffled-anyway-in-peru . 9 August 2022.
  12. Web site: Pedro Castillo swears in Betssy Chávez as Peru's new prime minister . 2022-11-26 . MSN . en-XL.