Alejandro Toledo, Peruvian economist and politician, 48th President of Peru

Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (Spanish: [aleˈxandɾo toˈleðo]; born 28 March 1946) is a Peruvian politician who served President of Peru, from 2001 to 2006. He gained international prominence after leading the opposition against president Alberto Fujimori, who held the presidency from 1990 to 2000.

He pursued his undergraduate and graduate education at the University of San Francisco and Stanford University. He originally joined the technical and academic field, from where he participated as an analyst on politics and economics on some occasions. He entered politics when he founded the País Posible party, participating for the first time in the 1995 general election. In 2000, he managed to become in the largest opposition leader to the government of Alberto Fujimori, before whom in the midst of a controversial and bumpy process, lost the election for a second time. After the transition stage and the return of democracy in Peru, he participated for the third time in the 2001 elections against Lourdes Flores of National Unity and Alan García of the Peruvian Aprista Party; he competed with the latter in the second round, winning with 53.1% of the popular vote.His administration was characterized by the beginning of the country's macroeconomic boom, promoting foreign investment, the signing of free trade agreements, and the implementation of various investment projects in infrastructure and human development. At the same time, Toledo suffered a governance crisis, scandals in his personal life and allegations of corruption against his inner circle, signs that hit his popularity until he fell to 8% of popular approval. Subsequently, he would try to regain the presidency in the 2011 general election, placing fourth. He ultimately placed eighth in the 2016 general election.Following his presidency, he served as a distinguished resident member of the Center for Advanced Study and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and as visiting professor at the Center for Democracy, Development and Law Enforcement at the Freeman Spogli Institute. Toledo has been a speaker at conferences in different countries on economics, social inclusion, and democracy, as well as a leader of his political party, the defunct Possible Peru. In 2006, he founded the Global Center for Development and Democracy, an organization advocating sustainable democracies; and between 2009 and 2010, he was a visiting professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and as professor of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution.On 16 July 2019, Toledo was arrested in the United States for an extradition order to Peru, as reported by the Peruvian Public Ministry. On 8 August, attorney Graham Archer, requested a request for release on bail before judge Thomas Hixson. On 12 September 2019, the judge ruled his request for reconsideration inadmissible. However, on 19 March 2020, he was released on bail.On Sept. 28, 2021, a U.S. District Court approved the extradition of Toledo, ruling that evidence presented in the case against Toledo were “sufficient to sustain the charges of collusion and money laundering” under the U.S. Peru Extradition Treaty.