Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea (born in Chambo, Ecuador in 1939) was the fourth child of Agustín (a farmer) and Elina. From his marriage to Margarita Pérez Pallares, he has five children: Sebastián, Andrés, Cristina, Isabel and Felipe. The last two are twins who were born during his term in office as president.
He attended the Christian Brotherhood’s La Salle Elementary School and the Jesuits’ San Felipe Secondary School, both in Riobamba. He continued his studies in Quito, at the Catholic University of Ecuador, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in Political and Social Sciences and a doctorate (J.D.) in Law. He underwrote part of the cost of his university studies by working as a clerk for Quito’s Fire Department and as a teacher at the San Gabriel Secondary School.
Instead of exercising his profession as a lawyer, he chose to work at the Ecuadorian Institute for Social Development (INEDES), where he directed the research that led to his first book, Dos mundos superpuestos, published when he was 29 years old. He taught political sociology at the Catholic University and political science at the Andean Center of the University of New Mexico. Since then, he has devoted most of his time to writing.
His best-known books are: El poder político en el Ecuador (1977), xLas costumbres de los ecuatorianos (2007) and Ecuador entre dos siglos (2017), the three have had multiple editions, the first two translated into English and the first also to Portuguese. His papers on Latin America have been included in books, magazines and journals published in Ecuador, the United States, Europe and Latin America.
In 1999 he received the Pío Jaramillo Alvarado National Award from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso – Ecuador), in recognition of his “significant contribution to the development of social science throughout his professional life.” He also holds an honorary doctorate from Georgetown University, among others from various universities, and has received official medals from several European and Latin American countries.
He has been a member of numerous international organizations such as the Inter-American Dialogue (Washington), for which he was co-chairman of the board; the Institute for European-Latin American Relations (IRELA), where he served as vice-chairman; the Prebisch Foundation (Buenos Aires); the Council of Former Presidents of the Americas chaired by Jimmy Carter (Atlanta); the Club of Madrid; the Biarritz Forum; the Emerging Markets Forum (Washington); the South American Peace Commission (Santiago); the Pacific Council on International Policy (Los Angeles); the Andean Commission of Jurists (Lima); the Due Process of Law Foundation (Washington); the advisory council for Latino Barómetro (Santiago, Chile); of the group of former presidents of the Iniciativa Democrática de España y las Américas (IDEA), and the group of judges that bestows the Inter-American Development Bank’s Juscelino Kubitschek Award to Latin American private-sector institutions for outstanding work in the fields of social and economic development.
He was also a member of the commission that prepared several reports on environmental issues under a mandate from the IDB and the UNDP: Nuestra propia agenda (1990), Amazonía sin mitos (1992) and Amanecer en los Andes (1997).
For twelve years Hurtado was a columnist for the Spanish news agency (EFE), and he has written for the Ecuadorian newspapers El Universo, El Comercio and Hoy.
In 1984 he founded the Corporation for Development Studies - CORDES, a Quito-based not-for-profit institution that studies political, economic, and social issues in Ecuador. Hurtado gives lectures, does consulting, attends international forums and occasionally takes part in the national political debate.
His hobbies are gardening, playing tennis, cooking, reading and listening to music.
He attended the Christian Brotherhood’s La Salle Elementary School and the Jesuits’ San Felipe Secondary School, both in Riobamba. He continued his studies in Quito, at the Catholic University of Ecuador, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in Political and Social Sciences and a doctorate (J.D.) in Law. He underwrote part of the cost of his university studies by working as a clerk for Quito’s Fire Department and as a teacher at the San Gabriel Secondary School.
Instead of exercising his profession as a lawyer, he chose to work at the Ecuadorian Institute for Social Development (INEDES), where he directed the research that led to his first book, Dos mundos superpuestos, published when he was 29 years old. He taught political sociology at the Catholic University and political science at the Andean Center of the University of New Mexico. Since then, he has devoted most of his time to writing.
His best-known books are: El poder político en el Ecuador (1977), xLas costumbres de los ecuatorianos (2007) and Ecuador entre dos siglos (2017), the three have had multiple editions, the first two translated into English and the first also to Portuguese. His papers on Latin America have been included in books, magazines and journals published in Ecuador, the United States, Europe and Latin America.
In 1999 he received the Pío Jaramillo Alvarado National Award from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso – Ecuador), in recognition of his “significant contribution to the development of social science throughout his professional life.” He also holds an honorary doctorate from Georgetown University, among others from various universities, and has received official medals from several European and Latin American countries.
He has been a member of numerous international organizations such as the Inter-American Dialogue (Washington), for which he was co-chairman of the board; the Institute for European-Latin American Relations (IRELA), where he served as vice-chairman; the Prebisch Foundation (Buenos Aires); the Council of Former Presidents of the Americas chaired by Jimmy Carter (Atlanta); the Club of Madrid; the Biarritz Forum; the Emerging Markets Forum (Washington); the South American Peace Commission (Santiago); the Pacific Council on International Policy (Los Angeles); the Andean Commission of Jurists (Lima); the Due Process of Law Foundation (Washington); the advisory council for Latino Barómetro (Santiago, Chile); of the group of former presidents of the Iniciativa Democrática de España y las Américas (IDEA), and the group of judges that bestows the Inter-American Development Bank’s Juscelino Kubitschek Award to Latin American private-sector institutions for outstanding work in the fields of social and economic development.
He was also a member of the commission that prepared several reports on environmental issues under a mandate from the IDB and the UNDP: Nuestra propia agenda (1990), Amazonía sin mitos (1992) and Amanecer en los Andes (1997).
For twelve years Hurtado was a columnist for the Spanish news agency (EFE), and he has written for the Ecuadorian newspapers El Universo, El Comercio and Hoy.
In 1984 he founded the Corporation for Development Studies - CORDES, a Quito-based not-for-profit institution that studies political, economic, and social issues in Ecuador. Hurtado gives lectures, does consulting, attends international forums and occasionally takes part in the national political debate.
His hobbies are gardening, playing tennis, cooking, reading and listening to music.