Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado born April 6, 1963 in Guayaquil,[1] was the 43rd President of Ecuador, and in 2009-2010 was the president pro tempore of the UNASUR.
Correa was elected President of Ecuador in late 2006 and took office in January 2007. In December 2008, he declared Ecuador's national debt illegitimate, based on the argument that it had been contracted by despotic prior regimes.
Correa's first term in office had been due to end on January 15, 2011, but the new approved constitution, written by the new National Assembly, called for general elections for April 26, 2009. In that election, Rafael Correa won in the first round with 51.9% of votes counted.
Early life
Rafael Correa was raised in a working class family from Guayaquil, the country's largest city. His father was Rafael Correa Icaza, born in the Province of Los Ríos, Ecuador, 23 March 1934, and deceased 10 June 1995. His mother is Norma Delgado Rendón, born 1 September 1939. His parents had three more children: Fabricio Correa, Pierina Correa and Bernardita Correa.
He attended primary and secondary school in San José-La Salle School in Guayaquil. During his youth he was a boy scout. Correa met his future Vice President, Jorge Glas while they were scouts as youth.
During his secondary studies he was president of the Lasallian Student Cultural Association ("ACEL" in Spanish). Afterwards and based on his academic achievements, he was given a scholarship to study at the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil (UCSG in Spanish), a private higher education institution in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in economics in 1987.
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