Alberto Fujimori

Biography

Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the president of Peru from 1990 to 2000. Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's first president of Japanese descent, and was an agronomist and university rector prior to entering politics. Fujimori emerged as a politician during the midst of the internal conflict in Peru, the Peruvian Lost Decade, and the ensuing violence caused by the far-left guerrilla group Shining Path. Fujimori's role in the presidency was as a figurehead, with the head of the National Intelligence Service (SIN), Vladimiro Montesinos, being recognized as the power behind the throne. During his tenure, a series of military reforms were instituted and the Peruvian Armed Forces responded to the Shining Path with repressive and lethal force, halting the group's actions while also killing thousands of innocent civilians. He became known for his neoliberal political and economic ideology of Fujimorism, which pushed a free market economy and social conservatism. Fujimori's time in office was marked by severe authoritarian measures, excessive use of propaganda, entrenched political corruption, multiple cases of extrajudicial killings, and human rights violations.

In 1992, during his first presidential term, Fujimori, with the support of SIN and the Peruvian Armed Forces, adopted the military's Plan Verde, targeting members of Peru's indigenous community and subjecting them to forced sterilizations. As part of the plan, he also carried out a self-coup against the Peruvian legislature and judiciary. Fujimori dissolved the Peruvian Congress and Supreme Court, effectively making him a dictator of Peru. The coup was criticized by Peruvian politicians, international governments, intellectuals and journalists, but was well received by the country's private business sector and a substantial part of the public. Following the coup d'état, Fujimori drafted a new constitution in 1993, which was approved in a referendum, and was elected as president for a second term in 1995 and controversially for a third term in 2000.

In 2000, following his third term election, Fujimori faced mounting allegations of widespread corruption and crimes against humanity within his government. Subsequently, Fujimori fled to Japan, where he submitted his presidential resignation via fax. Peru's congress refused to accept his resignation, instead voting to remove him from office on the grounds that he was "permanently morally disabled". While he was in Japan, Peru issued multiple criminal charges against him, stemming from the corruption and human rights abuses that occurred during his government. Peru requested Fujimori's extradition from Japan, which was refused by the Japanese government due to Fujimori being a Japanese citizen, and Japanese laws stipulating against extraditing its citizens. In 2005, while Fujimori was visiting Santiago, Chile, he was arrested by the Carabineros de Chile at the request of Peru, and extradited to Lima to face charges in 2007. Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was pardoned by president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2017, and was officially released in December 2023 following several years of legal proceedings regarding the legality of his pardon. He died nine months after his release in September 2024.