President of Guatemala
The President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1851, when that title was assumed by JosÃÂé Rafael Carrera, who had been acting as head of government as general and Caudillo since 1840. Earlier, Guatemala had been a state within the United Provinces of Central America since 1823, before that part of the Mexican Empire under Augustin de Iturbide, and before 1821 ruled by the Captain General of Guatemala, a Spanish colonial official owing allegence to the Viceroy of New Spain and the King of Spain, back to the Spanish conquest of the region in the early 16th century.The title of "President of Guatemala" has been used by democratically elected leaders, appointed heads of state, and leaders who took power by military coup.
List of Presidents of Guatemala
| JosÃÂé Rafael Carrera Turcios | 6 November 1851 - 14 April 1865 |
| Pedro de Aycinena y PiÃÂñol | 14 April 1865 - 24 May 1865 |
| Vicente Cerna Sandoval | 24 May 1865 - 29 June, 1871 |
| Miguel GarcÃÂÃÂa Granados Zavala | 29 June 1871 - 4 June 1873 |
| Justo Rufino Barrios AuyÃÂón | 4 June 1873 - 2 April 1885 |
| Alejandro M. Sinibaldi | 2 April 1885 - 5 April 1885 |
| Manuel Lisandro Barillas BerciÃÂán | 6 April 1885 - 15 March 1892 |
| JosÃÂé MarÃÂÃÂa Reina Barrios | 15 March 1892 - 8 February 1898 |
| Manuel JosÃÂé Estrada Cabrera | 8 February 1898 - 15 April 1920 |
| Carlos Herrera y Luna | 15 April 1920 - 10 December 1921 |
| JosÃÂé MarÃÂÃÂa Orellana Pinto | 10 December 1921 - 26 September 1926 |
| LÃÂázaro ChacÃÂón GonzÃÂález | 26 September 1926 - 2 January 1931 |
| JosÃÂé MarÃÂÃÂa Reina Andrade | 2 January 1931 - 14 February 1931 |
| Jorge Ubico y CastaÃÂñeda | 14 February 1931 - 4 July 1944 |
| Juan Federico Ponce Vaides | 4 July 1944 - 20 October 1944 |
(From 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945 Guatemala was governed by a military Junta consisting of Francisco Javier Arana, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, and Jorge Toriello Garrido.)
| Juan JosÃÂé ArÃÂévalo Bermejo | 15 March 1945 - 15 March 1951 |
| Jacobo Arbenz GuzmÃÂán | 15 March 1951 - 27 June 1954 |
| Carlos Enrique DÃÂÃÂaz de LeÃÂón | 27 June 1954 - 28 June 1954 |
(From 29 June 1954 to 8 July 1954 Guatemala was run by a Junta headed by General Elfego HernÃÂán MonzÃÂón Aguirre; from then until 26 July 1957 by a Junta headed by Carlos Castillo Armas)
| Luis Arturo GonzÃÂález LÃÂópez | 27 July 1957 - 24 October 1957 |
(From 24 October 1957 to 26 October 1957 Guatemala was ruled by a military Junta headed by ÃÂÃÂscar Mendoza Azurdia.)
In the presidential election of 9 November 2003, no candidate succeeded in securing a majority of votes; top vote getters ÃÂÃÂscar Berger and ÃÂÃÂlvaro Colom faced each other in a run-off election on 28 December, with Berger winning 54% of the vote. See: Guatemala election, 2003.
See also: History of Guatemala