Osvaldo Hurtado

{{Short description|President of Ecuador (1981–1984)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

{{For|the Chilean footballer|Osvaldo Hurtado (footballer)}}

{{family name hatnote|Hurtado|Larrea|lang=Spanish}}

{{BLP sources|date=February 2013}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Osvaldo Hurtado

|image = Osvaldo hurtado y jose valencia (cropped).jpg

|order =

|office = 34th President of Ecuador

|term_start = 24 May 1981

|term_end = 10 August 1984

|vicepresident = León Roldós Aguilera (1981–1984)

|predecessor = Jaime Roldós Aguilera

|successor = León Febres Cordero

|order2 =

|office2 = Vice President of Ecuador

|term_start2 = 10 August 1979

|term_end2 = 24 May 1981

|president2 = Jaime Roldós Aguilera

|predecessor2 = None

|successor2 = Blasco Peñaherrera Padilla

|office3 = President of the 1998 Constitutional Assembly

|term_start3 = 20 December 1997

|term_end3 = 8 May 1998

|birth_name = Luis Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1939|06|26|df=y}}

|birth_place = Chambo, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador

|party = Popular Democracy

|spouse = {{marriage|Margarita Pérez Pallares|1968}}

|children =

|occupation = Political scientist

|alma_mater = Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador

|height = 1.75m

|website =

}}

Luis Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea (born 26 June 1939) is an Ecuadorian author and politician who served as President of Ecuador from 24 May 1981 to 10 August 1984.

Hurtado was born in Chambo, Chimborazo Province. During his studies at the Catholic University in the 1960s, Hurtado became a student leader. Afterwards, he lectured political sociology at his alma mater and at the Centro Andino of the University of New Mexico. He became one of the most widely read political scientists of his home country. In 1977, he authored an influential book on Ecuadorian politics titled El Poder Político en el Ecuador (English: "Political Power in Ecuador").

Hurtado drew progressive Catholics and younger professionals away from the Social Christian Party and into the Christian Democrats movement which was inspired by Christian communitarianism and Liberation theology and criticized capitalist exploitation. At the time, it was the most radical among Ecuador's non-Marxist parties and Hurtado was suspected by his right-wing opponents of being a "closet Marxist". In 1978, he merged his Christian Democrats with the progressive wing of the Conservative Party to form the Popular Democracy party.{{Citation |first=Howard |last=Handelman |title=A New Political Direction? |work=Military Government and the Movement Toward Democracy in South America |publisher=American Universities Field Staff |year=1981 |page=37}}

In 1979, Hurtado was chosen as running mate of presidential candidate Jaime Roldós Aguilera of the populist Concentration of People's Forces. Roldós was successful and Hurtado became Vice President of Ecuador.{{cite web|url=http://www.vicepresidencia.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/10/VICEPRESIDENTES-EN-LA-HISTORIA-2013.pdf|format=PDF|title=Vicepresidentes en la historia|website=www.vicepresidencia.gob.ec|access-date=25 November 2017}} On Sunday, 24 May 1981, Jaime Roldós Aguilera died in a plane crash. Hurtado succeeded Roldós Aguilera as President of Ecuador and served out the rest of his term.

Hurtado is a member of the Club de Madrid.{{cite web |url=http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/osvaldo_hurtado |title=Hurtado, Osvaldo profile |publisher=Club de Madrid |access-date=12 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627023742/http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/osvaldo_hurtado |archive-date=27 June 2012 |url-status=dead }} He is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thedialogue.org/experts/osvaldo-hurtado/|title=Inter-American Dialogue {{!}} Osvaldo Hurtado|website=www.thedialogue.org|access-date=2017-04-12}}