Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (born 17 January 1940) is the current President of Uruguay. A physician by training, he is a socialist and member of the leftist Broad Front coalition (Frente Amplio in Spanish). Vázquez was elected president on October 31, 2004 and took office on March 1 2005, the first leftist president in Uruguayan history.

Born in the Montevideo neighborhood of La Teja, Vázquez studied medicine at the Universidad de la República Medical School, graduating as an oncology specialist in 1972. In 1976 he received a grant from the French government allowing him to obtain additional training at the Gustave Roussy Institute in Paris.

From 1990 to 1995, Vázquez was the Broad Front coalition's first mayor of Montevideo. In 1994, he made an unsuccessful run for president as the Frente Amplio candidate, receiving 30.6% of the vote. He ran again in 1999, receiving 48% percent of the vote in the runoff election, losing to Jorge Batlle Ibáñez. In the 2004 elections, he won 50.45% of the vote with 1,124,761 votes on the first ballot, eliminating the need for a runoff.

With his own Frente Amplio holding a majority in Parliament, Vázquez is thought to have few obstacles to start with. He will also have the support of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also a leftist.

Vázquez is a notable football fan. During his ten-year stint (1979-1989) as president of the Club Progreso team, it won the national championship in 1984.

Vázquez is married to María Auxiliadora Delgado and has three children with her (Ignacio, Álvaro and Javier) plus an adopted son, Fabián.

See also

• List of national leaders

External links

• New leftist cabinet launched in Uruguay (XinHua News)
• Uruguay inaugurates first leftist president (Globe&Mail)
• Left-wing Uruguay leader sworn in (BBC News)