Ricardo Maduro Joest
Former President of Honduras (2002 - 2006); President Inversiones la Paz
Maduro, the sixth president to be elected since Honduras returned to democracy in 1982, served as president of Honduras from 2002 until 2006.
He began his political career in the 1980s as founding member of the Unity and Change movement, which catapulted Rafael Callejas to the presidency in 1989. Maduro served as campaign manager in 1985 and 1989, president of the National Party Central Committee, and president of the Central Bank during the Callejas administration.
During Maduro’s presidency, Honduras negotiated and ratified the US–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), became the first Latin American country to sign a Millennium Challenge Account compact with the US, and actively promoted greater Central American integration.
A successful businessman, Maduro has founded and organized companies ranging from agriculture businesses to hotels. He won the 1983 Honduran American Chamber of Commerce “Businessman of the Year” award.
Maduro holds a bachelors degree in economics from Stanford University.
