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Profile: Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski

Xinhua, July 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski took office Thursday as the new president of Peru, calling for a "social revolution" to eradicate poverty and modernize the country.

Kuczynski, 77, narrowly defeated rival candidate Keiko Fujimori on June 5. However, Fujimori's Popular Force (FP) party won an absolute majority in congress.

Kuczynski listed six goals of his administration, namely providing all Peruvians with access to potable water, qualified public education, improved public healthcare, formalizing the underground economy, boosting infrastructure, and fighting corruption.

The new president, who recently unveiled a cabinet packed with technocrats and economists, said he also wanted to see Peru join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by the end of his term in 2021.p As son of immigrants, Kuczynski was born to a Jewish doctor from Germany.

He went on to study at Oxford University in Britain and Princeton University in the United States.

One of his first public posts was being designated head of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) of Peru in 1966.

Following the 1968 military coup, Kuczynski was forced to flee the country. After years of living in the United States and a long career in business and finance, Kuczynski returned to Peru in 1980 to serve as minister of energy and mines.

In 2001, he served as minister of economy but resigned in 2002 over heavy criticism for being too close to the International Monetary Fund.

Kuczynski first ran for president in 2011, coming in third place. Endi