Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García

Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García (born Jan. 24, 1930, Guatemala City, Guat.—died Dec. 9, 2009, Guatemala City) was the president of Guatemala (1974–78), minister of defense and chief of the armed forces (1970–74).

Born to a Norwegian father and a Guatemalan mother, Laugerud attended the Escuela Politécnica, Guatemala’s military academy. He was elected president of Guatemala in March 1974 in an election accompanied by violence, political assassinations, and accusations of fraud. Inaugurated on July 1, he announced an economic austerity program but retained many of his predecessor’s cabinet ministers. He launched a colonization program to settle landless peasants in the Petén. Throughout his administration he conducted a vigorous campaign to reestablish Guatemalan sovereignty over neighbouring Belize but was hindered by international opposition. In 1977 he broke diplomatic relations with Panama over this issue. Following the disastrous earthquake of 1976, Laugerud obtained loans from the Interamerican Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Development Association for the construction of roads, hospitals, and electric lines and the promotion of the fishing and construction industries. He managed the distribution of relief supplies and maintained order with commendable efficiency. The political unrest that accompanied his election continued to grow during the next four years. The May 1978 massacre of more than 100 indigenous peasants at Panzós in Alta Verapaz tainted Laugerud’s reputation at the end of his term. The peasants had been protesting eviction from their land, which the government wanted to claim for mining and petroleum projects. Amnesty International repeatedly condemned the actions of the White Hand, a right-wing civilian death squad with some paramilitary elements, and charged that Laugerud tacitly condoned the terrorism.