Thelma Aldana

Thelma Aldana
11th Attorney General of Guatemala
In office May 17, 2014 – May 16, 2018
President	Otto Pérez Molina Alejandro Maldonado Jimmy Morales
Preceded by	Claudia Paz y Paz
Succeeded by	María Consuelo Porras
55th President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Guatemala
In office October 13, 2011 – October 13, 2012
President	Álvaro Colom Otto Pérez Molina
Preceded by	Arturo Archila
Succeeded by	Gabriel Medrano
Personal details
Born	Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández (1955-09-27) 27 September 1955 (age 66) Gualán, Zacapa, Guatemala
Political party	Semilla
Residence	Guatemala City
Awards	Right Livelihood Award

Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández (locally ['telma espe'ɾansa al'dana eɾ'nanðes]; born 27 September 1955) is a Guatemalan jurist and politician, former President of the Supreme Court and former Attorney General.

Life[]

Aldana was born in Gualán, eastern Guatemala, in 1955. She graduated from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala. She has a Master's degree in Civil and Procedural Law.^[1] In 2009, she became a judge in the Supreme Court. She served as the president of the Supreme Court from 2011-2012. In 2014 she replaced the highly effective Claudia Paz y Paz as Guatemala’s attorney general. She is married.^[2]

Courts for violence against women[]

In 2011, when she was president of the Supreme Court, Aldana started special courts in Guatemala for femicide cases. Killing women, and violence against women are rampant in Guatemala; every year there are on the average 56,000 reports of violence against women.^[3] Eleven districts now have the special courts. Judges and police officers receive special gender crime training.

Against corruption[]

In 2015 Aldana led another investigation into government corruption.^[4] In this, she closely cooperated with the Commissioner of the UN International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Iván Velásquez Gómez. As a result, the President of Guatemala, Otto Pérez Molina, was forced to resign.^[5]

Presidential campaign[]

In 2019, Aldana entered the presidential election, campaigning on the platform of anti-corruption with new party Semilla. However, on 15 May, the Constitutional Court rejected her candidacy for President, since she had been charged with corruption, despite no evidence being presented. It's believed that the charges were presented to stop her candidacy and an eventual administration since she was the front-runner.^[6]

Awards[]

In 2015 Aldana won the Jaime Brunet Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights from the Public University of Navarra. The prize was for her work for women's rights, against gender violence, and for the rights of the indigenous peoples, as well as against political corruption. The prize was 36,000 euros.^[7]

In 2016 she was recognised with an International Women of Courage Award by the US Secretary of State.^[8]

In 2018 she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award along with Iván Velásquez Gómez for "their innovative work [with CICIG] in exposing abuse of power and prosecuting corruption, thus rebuilding people’s trust in public institutions."^[9]

References[]