Who is he?:
President of Mexico since Dec. 1, 2006, serving one six-year term that will expire in 2012. Won the vote in a razor-thin, contested election against leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. A Harvard-educated lawyer with legislative experience who was secretary of energy under President Vicente Fox.
Birthdate:
Aug. 18, 1962, in Morelia, Michoacán, the youngest of five boys.
Personal life:
Married to Margarita Zavala Gómez del Campo (the only first lady to have served as a deputy in the Mexican Congress), with whom he has three children (two boys and one girl). His late father, Luis Calderon Vega, was founder of the National Action Party. In addition to working in civil and labor law at two private firms, Calderon has written some newspaper editorials.
Political affiliation:
The conservative National Action Party (PAN). Calderon used to be the party's president.
Career:
Calderon was a legislative representative from 1988-91 and a deputy in the legislature from 1991-94, and again in 2000. He has had a long career with the PAN, as Secretary of Studies (1987), National Youth Secretary (1991) and Secretary General (1993). In 1995 he was a candidate for governor of the state of Michoacán. He served as president of the PAN's executive committee from 1996-99. Fox appointed him secretary of energy in 2003, but Calderon stepped down in 2004 over friction with Fox about presidential ambitions. Some still don't recognize Calderon as president after a 0.56% victory over Lopez Obrador in 2006.
Future:
Calderon came into office vowing to defeat the drug cartels that have held Mexico hostage with rampant violence. He ordered federal troops into several cities to combat the violence, but this has increased tension between the cartels and the government. Since the 2006 crackdown began, there have been 14,000 drug-related deaths. Still, Calderon enjoys high approval ratings -- 62 percent in September 2008 -- and continues to press his economic policies and demand immigration reform from the United States. Presidents can only serve one term in Mexico, so he can press forward with policies without re-election concerns.
Quote:
“My hand won't tremble in acting firmly and courageously to stop the crime that is holding Mexicans hostage.”