Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes

Biographical information

RolesAdministrator
SexMale
Full nameJosé Miguel Ramón•Ydígoras Fuentes
Used nameMiguel•Ydígoras Fuentes
Born17 October 1895 in Retalhuleu, Retalhuleu (GUA)
Died6 October 1982 in Ciudad de Guatemala (Guatemala City), Guatemala (GUA)
NOC Guatemala

Biography

Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes was a career military officer and later a politician. He was a military attaché in Paris in 1919 and represented Guatemala at the Versailles Peace Conference, and later that year, was the team leader for Guatemala at the Inter-Allied Games. In 1926 he competed as a shooter at the first Central American and Caribbean Games in Mexico City and served as chef de mission for the Guatemalan team. By 1937 he had reached the rank of general and turned his attention to politics, beginning as a provincial governor. In 1939 Ydígoras Fuentes was appointed Minister of Roads, but then had some difficult years and was sent abroad, first as military attaché in Washington, DC and than as an ambassador in London.

He ran for President in 1950 but was defeated and was then posted to El Salvador. In 1954 former General Carlos Castillo Armas assumed power in Guatemala in a coup, which was supported by the United States CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), but Castillo Armas was assassinated in July 1957. This helped Ydígoras Fuentes’ party, the National Democratic Reconciliation Party, come into power, and he became President of Guatemala in March 1958. There were several Army rebellions to overthrow him, which eventually succeeded in March 1963 when he was ousted in a coup led by his own Defense Minister, Colonel Enrique Peralta Azurdia, who had the backing of opposition parties. During his Presidency he worked closely with the CIA to an agreement to train Cuban exiles in Guatemala in return for the United States buying more sugar from his country.

Given that history it is surprising that Ydígoras Fuentes had much time for Olympic involvement and, in fact, he was chosen for the IOC because of his powerful position more than his sports background. He was co-opted onto the IOC in August 1948, but de-commissioned in July 1952 after attending only one of four IOC Sessions during his tenure.

Organization roles

Role Organization Tenure NOC As
Member International Olympic Committee 1948—1952 GUA Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes