Eduardo Montealegre

Who is Eduardo Montealegre?

Eduardo Montealegre Rivas is a Nicaraguan politician. He ran for president in the 2006 general election as the candidate of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance a spin-off of the Constitutional Liberal Party in alliance with other liberal parties and the Conservative Party. He finished in second place after Daniel Ortega, receiving 28.3% of the vote.

Montealegre was born in Nicaragua's capital Managua, from a wealthy and prominent family in the banking sector. He received an Sc. B in Economics from Brown University in 1976 and an MBA with a focus in finance and strategic planning from Harvard University in 1980. He later became a businessman in Nicaragua.

Montealegre served as minister to the presidency in 1998 under Arnoldo Alemán. He also served as foreign minister from 1999 to 2000 in the government of Arnoldo Alemán and as finance minister from 2002 to 2003 in the government of the next President Enrique Bolaños. Subsequently, he served as minister to the presidency of Enrique Bolaños. He announced his split from the PLC in protest of the control of the party by former President Alemán, who was imprisoned for misappropriation of funds.