Sixto Durán Ballén

Infobox_President | name=Sixto Durán-Ballén


nationality=Ecuadorian
order=President of Ecuador
term_start=August 10 1992
term_end=August 10 1996
predecessor=Rodrigo Borja
successor=Abdalá Bucaram
birth_date= Birth date and age|1921|7|14|mf=y
birth_place=Boston , United States
party=Democratic Union
vicepresident=Alberto Dahik (1992) - (1995)

Eduardo Peña (1995) - (1996)

Sixto Durán-Ballén Cordovez (born July 14, 1921 in Boston) is an Ecuadorian (U.S.-born) political figure and architect. He served as Mayor of Quito between 1970 and 1978, and as president of Ecuador between 1992 and 1996. He served as congressman in 1984 and again in 1998. As of 2008, Durán-Ballén has the distinction of being the last Ecuadorian president to serve out a complete 4-year term.

During his time as president he actively pursued structural reform to modernize the Ecuadorian state and cut down wasteful bureaucratic spending. The result was a significant reduction of government deficits and a thriving private sector. Durán-Ballén also led Ecuador into membership in the WTO which had a significant impact on the country's political institutions and export competitiveness. In 1995 Durán-Ballén proved to be one of Ecuador's most successful war-time leaders when his determined leadership united a divided country under the theme "Ni un paso atras" which means not a single step backwards during the Cenepa War. His term was characterized by continued political stalemate with a congress led by the Christian Democrat party.

During his term there were corruption indictments against personal members of his family, accused of illicit enrichment, in cases such as "Flores y Miel" ("Flowers and Honey") and the impeachment of his Vice President Alberto Dahik for allegedly using public funds illicitly. However Durán-Ballén was never directly a part of these scandals and he is remembered for being one of the most honest politicians in the history of modern Ecuadorian politicsFact|date=July 2008.

External links

* [http://www.presidencia.gov.ec/modulos.asp?id=28/ Official Website of the Ecuadorian Government about the country President's History]