| Manuel Zelaya |
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| nationality=not-american | image=Manuel Zelaya (Brasília, 03 April 2006).jpeg | caption=(Photo: Marcello Casal Jr/ABr., 2006) | term_start= January 27 , 2006 | term_end= January 27 , 2010 | predecessor= Ricardo Maduro | successor=''incumbent'' | birth_date= September 20 , 1952 | birth_place= Catacamas , Olancho | dead=alive | death_date= | death_place= | spouse=Xiomara de Zelaya | party='' Liberal Party Of Honduras (PLH)'' | order= | vicepresident= }} José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, also known as '''Mel Zelaya''', (born September 20 , 1952 ) is the President of Honduras since January 27 2006 . On November 27 , 2005 , as the Liberal Party Of Honduras (PLH) candidate he beat the National Party Of Honduras (PNH's) Porfirio Pepe Lobo in the Presidential Election , replacing Ricardo Maduro as President Of Honduras on January 27 , 2006 as the PLH's 5th President in the national stadium in Tegucigalpa in front of 250 dignitaries, including leaders from other countries. Background Zelaya was born the eldest of four children in Catacamas , Olancho into a family with a notable political history. He has a brother called Carlos, while his mother has been described as his best campaigner. He attended the public National Honduran University (UNAH), training as a civil engineer, but did not graduate, engaging instead in business activities, and specifically Timber and Cattle . He is a landowner in Olancho (a state in Honduras) who has worked his own property as a rancher. In June 1975 his family were suspected of involvement in the murder of two priests on their land in Olancho, one from the United States and the other from Colombia though Zelaya has always strongly denied any involvement. Political career He joined the PLH in 1970 and became active a decade later. He was a deputy in the National Congress 3 consecutive times between 1985 and 1998 . He held many positions within the PLH and was Minister for Investment in charge of the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS) in a previous PLH government. During the government of Carlos Roberto Flores Zelaya introduced an ''Open counties programme'' to decentralise decision making and return power to the local communities. He used both the official division according to Municipality and another method which categorised people according to their Indigenous or traditional communities, with said categorisation creating 297 different groups and he is planning to revive this scheme once he becomes President. During the election campaign Zelaya promised to double police numbers from 9,000 to 18,000. He also promised to initiate a programme of Re-education amongst the Mara Salvatrucha gangs. In this question his approach was very different from that of his main rival Pepe Lobo, who advocated the Death Penalty for these groups of delinquents, leading the Honduran media to describe the country as having chosen reconciliation over confrontation. He is married to Xeaminea De Zelaya , who is now the first lady of Honduras. External links |