Annex: Presidents of Guatemala

Presidential banner.

The National Palace, former headquarters of the Government of the Republic of Guatemala

La Casa Presidencial, sede oficial del Gobierno de la República de Guatemala y casa del Presidente de la República.

The President of the Republic of Guatemala is the head of state and government of Guatemala by mandate of the people. His official address is El Señor Presidente de la República de Guatemala.

This annex contains the list of Higher Political Leaders, Supreme Leaders and Presidents of the Republic that Guatemala has had since its independence in 1821 to the present day.

Senior Political Chief of the Province of Guatemala

	Senior Political Chief	Period	Notes
	Gabino Gaínza	15 September 1821 - 23 October 1822	Captain General of Guatemala within the First Mexican Empire
	Vicente Filísola	24 October 1822 - 17 July 1823	Captain General of Guatemala within the First Mexican Empire
	Tomás Antonio O'Horán y Argüello	17 July 1823 - 18 September 1823	Captain General of Guatemala within the United Provinces of Central America.
	Pedro Molina Mazariegos	19 September 1823 - 16 October 1824	General

Supreme Head of State of Guatemala

The Supreme Chiefs were designated as the heads of State and Government of Guatemala, when it was part of the United Provinces of Central America.

Liberal Conservative Other

No.	Chief		Period	Birth/death	Additional information
1		Alejandro Díaz Cabeza de Vaca	1824		Conservative, prospective
2		Juan Barrundia	1824 - 1826	*1788 - †1843	Liberal
3		Cyril Flowers Estrada	1826		Liberal
4		José Domingo Estrada	1827		Conservative
5		Mariano de Aycinena and Piñol	1827 - 1828	*1789 - †1885	Conservative
6		Mario Zenteno	1829		Provisory
7		José Francisco Barrundia and Cepeda	1829	*1787 - †1854	Liberal
8		Pedro Molina Mazariegos	1829 - 1831	*1777 - †1854	Liberal
9		Gregorio Márquez	1831
10		Mariano Gálvez	1831 - 1838	*1790 - †1862	Liberal
11		Pedro José Valenzuela	1838
12		Mariano Rivera Paz	1838 - 1839	*1804 - †1849	Conservative
13		Carlos Salazar Castro	1839	*1800 - †1867	Provisory
14		Mariano Rivera Paz	1839	*1804 - †1849	Conservative

Presidents of the State of Guatemala

No.	Chairman		Period	Political Organization	Birth/death	Notes
1		Mariano Rivera Paz	3 December 1839 - 14 December 1841	Conservative Party	*1804 - †1849	First President of Guatemala, as President of the State of Guatemala.
2		José Venancio López	14 December 1841 - 14 May 1842	Independent	*1791 - †1863	2nd President of the State. Intern from December 1841 to February 1942 and then Owner until May 1842.
3		Mariano Rivera Paz	14 May 1842 - 4 December 1844	Conservative Party	*1804 - †1849	3.♪ President of the State. Second term, he resigned in 1844 for political pressures from Rafael Carrera.
4		Rafael Carrera y Turcios	4 December 1844 - 21 March 1847	Conservative Party	*1814 - †1865	4th President of the State, appointed by the National Legislative Assembly. It founded the Republic of Guatemala on 21 March 1847.

Presidents of the Republic of Guatemala

N.o	Chairman			Start of mandate	End of mandate	Political party	Vice-Chairman
1			Rafael Carrera y Turcios 1814-1865 (51 years)	21 March 1847	17 August 1848	Conservative
2			Juan Antonio Martínez	17 August 1848	28 November 1848	Conservative
3			José Bernardo Escobar 1797–1849 (52 years)	28 November 1848	18 January 1849	Conservative
4			Mariano Paredes 1800-1856 (56 years)	18 January 1849	6 November 1851	Independent
5			Rafael Carrera y Turcios 1814-1865 (51 years)	6 November 1851	14 April 1865	Conservative
6			Pedro de Aycinena 1802-1897 (95 years)	14 April 1865	24 May 1865	Conservative
7			Vicente Cerna and Cerna 1815-1885 (70 years)	24 May 1865	29 June 1871	Conservative
8			Miguel García Granados 1809-1878 (68 years)	1 July 1871	4 December 1873	Liberal
9			Just Rufino Barrios 1835-1885 (49 years)	4 December 1873	2 April 1885	Liberal
10			José María Orantes 1815-1886 (71 years)	2 June 1882	5 January 1883	Liberal
11			Alejandro M. Sinibaldi 1825–1896 (71 years)	2 April 1885	6 April 1885	Liberal
12			Manuel Lisandro Barillas 1864-1907 (62 years)	6 April 1885	15 March 1892	Liberal
13			José María Reina Barrios 1853–1898 (43 years)	15 March 1892	8 February 1898	Liberal
14			Manuel Estrada Cabrera 1857-1924 (66 years)	8 February 1898	15 April 1920	Liberal
15			Carlos Herrera and Luna 1856-1930 (73 years)	15 April 1920	10 December 1921	Unionist
16			José María Orellana 1872-1926 (54 years)	10 December 1921	26 September 1926	Liberal
17			Lazaro Chacón González 1873–1931 (57 years)	26 September 1926	13 December 1930	Liberal
18			Baudilio Palma	13 December 1930	17 December 1930	Independent
19			Manuel María Orellana 1870–1940 (69 years)	17 December 1930	2 January 1931	Military
20			José María Reina Andrade 1860-1947 (86 years)	2 January 1931	14 February 1931	Liberal
21			Jorge Ubico Castañeda 1878-1946 (67 years)	14 February 1931	1 July 1944	Liberal Progressive
22			Federico Ponce Vaides 1889-1956 (67 years)	1 July 1944	20 October 1944	Liberal Progressive
23			Jacobo Arbenz Guzman 1913-1971 (57 years)	20 October 1944	15 March 1945	Military (Revolutionary Government Board)
			Francisco Javier Arana 1905-1949 (43 years)			Military (Revolutionary Government Board)
			Jorge Toriello Garrido 1908-1998 (90 years)			Independent (Revolutionary Government Board)
24			Juan José Arévalo 1904-1990 (86 years)	15 March 1945	15 March 1951	National renewal Popular Front
25			Jacobo Arbenz 1913-1971 (57 years)	15 March 1951	27 June 1954	Revolutionary Action
26			Carlos Enrique Díaz 1915–2014 (99 years)	27 June 1954	28 June 1954	Revolutionary Action
27			Elfego Monzón 1912-1981 (69 years)	28 June 1954	1 September 1954	Military
28			Carlos Castillo Armas 1914-1957 (42 years)	1 September 1954	26 July 1957	Military
29			Luis Arturo González López 1900-1965 (64 years)	26 July 1957	24 October 1957	Independent
30			Óscar Mendoza Azurdia 1917–1995 (78 years)	24 October 1957	27 October 1957	Military
31			Guillermo Flores Avendaño 1894-1982 (87 years)	27 October 1957	2 March 1958	Military
32			Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes 1895-1982 (86 years)	2 March 1958	31 March 1963	Redemption
33			Enrique Peralta Azurdia 1908–1997 (88 years)	31 March 1963	1 July 1966	Military
34			July Méndez Montenegro 1915-1996 (80 years)	1 July 1966	1 July 1970	Revolutionary	Clemente Marroquín Rojas
35			Carlos Arana Osorio 1918–2003 (85 years)	1 July 1970	1 July 1974	National Liberation Movement	Eduardo Cáceres Lehnhoff
36			Kjell Laugerud García 1930-2009 (79 years)	1 July 1974	1 July 1978	National Liberation Movement	Mario Sandoval Alarcón
37			Romeo Lucas García 1924–2006 (81 years)	1 July 1978	23 March 1982	National Liberation Movement	Francisco Villagrán Kramer (1978–80)
							Óscar Mendoza Azurdia (1980–82)
38			Efraín Ríos Montt 1926–2018 (91 years)	23 March 1982	8 August 1983	Military	Vacant
39			Óscar Mejía Víctores 1930–2016 (85 years)	8 August 1983	14 January 1986	Military	Rodolfo Lobos Zamora
40			Vinicio Cerezo n. 1942 (80 years)	14 January 1986	14 January 1991	Guatemalan Christian Democracy	Roberto Carpio Nicolle
41			Jorge Serrano Elías n. 1945 (77 years)	14 January 1991	31 May 1993	Solidarity Action Movement	Gustavo Espina
42			Gustavo Espina n. 1946 (76 years)	1 June 1993	5 June 1993	Solidarity Action Movement	Vacant
43			Ramiro de León Carpio 1942–2002 (60 years)	6 June 1993	14 January 1996	Independent	Arturo Herbruger
44			Alvaro Arzú Irigoyen 1946–2018 (72 years)	14 January 1996	14 January 2000	National Advanced Party	Luis Flores Asturias
45			Alfonso Portillo n. 1951 (71 years)	14 January 2000	14 January 2004	Guatemalan Republican Front	Juan Francisco Reyes
46			Óscar Berger n. 1946 (76 years)	14 January 2004	14 January 2008	Grand National Alliance (PP-MR-PSN)	Eduardo Stein
47			Alvaro Colom 1951–2023 (71 years)	14 January 2008	14 January 2012	National Unity of Hope	Rafael Espada
48			Otto Pérez Molina n. 1950 (72 years)	14 January 2012	3 September 2015	Patriot Party	Roxana Baldetti (2012–2015)
							Alejandro Maldonado (2015)
49			Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre n. 1936 (87 years)	3 September 2015	14 January 2016	Independent	Alfonso Fuentes Soria
50			Jimmy Morales n. 1969 (54 years)	14 January 2016	14 January 2020	Front de Convergencia Nacional	Jafeth Cabrera Franco
51			Alejandro Giammattei n. 1956 (67 years)	14 January 2020	Present	Let's go for a different Guatemalan	Guillermo Castillo Reyes

Relevant data

Source entity

Presidents by style

By way of appointment

• 20 elected presidents.
• 12 appointed by a high power of the State.
• 9 Acting presidents.
• 5 de facto presidents.
• 3 Presidents (formerly vice presidents successors to the post for the murder of presidents).

By type of government

• 30 military governments.
• 19 civilian Governments

By gender

• 51 Men took over the presidency of Guatemala.
• 0 Women occupied the presidency of Guatemala.

Presidents by Political Party

• 3 Presidents of the National Liberation Movement
• 3 Presidents of the Democratic Institutional Party
• 3 Presidents of the Revolutionary Party
• 2 Presidents of the Patriot Party
• 1 Presidents of the National Convergence Front
• 1 President for Come for a Different Guatemala
• 1 Chairman of the Reform Movement
• 1 President of the Solidarity Movement
• 1 President of the Guatemalan Republican Front
• 1 President of the National Advanced Party
• 1 Chairman of the Solidarity Action Movement
• 1 President of the Great National Alliance
• 1 President of the National Unity of Hope
• 1 President for Guatemalan Christian Democracy

President deceased or assassinated during his tenure

• Rafael Carrera died in office because of amebiasis.
• Just Rufino Barrios was Guatemala's first president to have been killed while he was in office. He died on April 2, 1885 during the Battle of Chalchuapa.
• José María Reyna Barrios was the second President of Guatemala who had been killed while in office; he died on February 8, 1898.
• José María Orellana was the third President of Guatemala who had been killed while in office. He died in suspicious circumstances while on vacation in Antigua Guatemala in 1926.
• Lazaro Chacón had to leave the office of President of Guatemala after suffering a stroke in December 1930. He died in the United States the following year.
• Baudilio Palma was the fourth President of Guatemala who was killed while occupying the post. The same happened during the coup d'etat that removed him from power after three days of having succeeded Lazarus Chacón.
• Carlos Castillo Armas, known for leading the coup d'état in Guatemala in 1954 organized by the U.S. CIA, was murdered inside the National Palace in July 1957, becoming the fifth president killed while occupying the post.

General Statistics

Longest continuous time in power

• Manuel Estrada Cabrera: 22 years, 2 months, 7 days (1898-1920)
• Jorge Ubico Castañeda: 13 years (1931-1944)
• Just Rufino Barrios: 12 years (1873-1885)
• Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián: 7 years (1885-1892)
• José María Reyna Barrios: 6 years (1892-1898)
• Juan José Arévalo Bermejo: 5 years (1945-1951)
• Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo: 5 years (1986-1991)

Longest accumulated time in power in a discontinuous manner

• Rafael Carrera y Turcios 14 years, 9 months, 30 days

Less cumulative time in power

• Carlos Enrique Díaz de León 14 hours
• Alejandro M. Sinibaldi 4 days
• Gustavo Espina 5 days

Age at takeover

Living former presidents

• 

  Vinicio Cerezo,
  1986 - 1991,
  80 years.

• 

  Jorge Serrano Elías,
  1991 - 1993,
  77 years.

• 

  Gustavo Espina,
  1993 - 1993
  76 years.

• 

  Alfonso Portillo,
  2000 - 2004,
  71 years.

• 

  Oscar Berger,
  2004 - 2008,
  76 years.

• 

  Otto Pérez Molina,
  2012 - 2015,
  72 years.

• 

  Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre,
  2015 - 2016,
  87 years.

• 

  Jimmy Morales,
  2016 - 2020,
  54 years.