Alberto Dahik

Alberto Dahik Garzozi (born 27 August 1953) is an Ecuadorian politician of Lebanese ancestry. He was Vice President of Ecuador from 10 August 1992 to 11 October 1995 during the Sixto Durán Ballén administration.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Dahik and the second or maternal family name is Garzozi.
Alberto Dahik
Vice President of Ecuador
In office
10 August 1992 – 11 October 1995
Preceded byLuis Parodi Valverde
Succeeded byEduardo Peña
Member of the Congress
In office
August 1988 – August 1992
Minister of Finance
In office
June–September 1986
Preceded byFrancisco Swett
Succeeded byRodrigo Espinosa Bermeo
Personal details
Born (1953-08-27) 27 August 1953
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Political partyConservative Party

In 1995, he was forced out of office when the nation's Supreme Court filled a motion to charge Dahik with embezzlement. However, Dahik escaped to Costa Rica where he was granted asylum. In December 2011, he returned to Ecuador while then-President Rafael Correa granted Dahik amnesty. In January 2012, the court acquitted Dahik of all crimes.

Early life

Dahik was educated in economics at The University of Western Ontario and obtained a master's degree from Princeton University, being directed in the latter by Nobel laureate W. Arthur Lewis.[1] He served as Minister of Finance during 1986 (when he was impeached) and member of Congress from 1988 to 1992.[2] It was during this tenure, in October 1990, that he was involved in a highly publicized incident while a congressional fight was taking place: he was hit by an ashtray tossed by a Roldosist congressman.[3]

Vice Presidency

At the end of 1991, Dahik's Conservative Party established an alliance with Sixto Durán Ballén's Republican Union Party and chose Dahik as his running mate for the 1992 presidential election,[4] which he won against Jaime Nebot. As Vice President in Durán Ballén's administration,[5] Dahik was responsible in designing economic policies. He was important member of Conservative Party.

Embezzlement charges

In 1995, the Supreme Court announced that it had enough evidence to arrest Dahik on charges of embezzlement, but Dahik managed to flee to Costa Rica where he was granted political asylum by that country on 30 March 1996.[6][7] Dahik briefly returned to Ecuador in April 2005 after his process was annulled by the so-called Pichicorte, unconstitutionally set by Lucio Gutierrez's government.

Ecuador's constitution enacted the necessity of an impeachment process in Congress for the President and Vice-President before any legal procedure regarding the exercise of public duty. The process was set up and Dahik was declared innocent by both Parliament and the Comptroller General of the country, turning then his trial unconstitutional and illegal.

Return to Ecuador

On 23 December 2011 Dahik returned to Ecuador after 16 years of exile, a year after President Rafael Correa called on the National Assembly of Ecuador to grant him amnesty, based on his belief that Dahik is an honest man. His prison order was lifted in order to present himself to a judge every two weeks as precautionary measure.[8] His first appearance at the court occurred on 26 December.[9]

On 20 January 2012, Dahik was acquitted by the First Chamber of the National Court of Justice on the basis that he was subjected to a "judicial atrocity".[10] His case was finally archived in March 2013.[11]

References
  1. "Alberto Dahik – ESAI Business School" (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  2. "Noticias Ecuador".
  3. "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  4. "PARTIDO CONSERVADOR Y UNIDAD REPUBLICANA MANTIENEN UNA ALIANZA Y NO UNA ADHESION". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  5. "Vicepresidentes en la historia" (PDF). www.vicepresidencia.gob.ec. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. "Enciclopedia del Ecuador - Efrén Avilés Pino - DAHIK, Ec. Alberto". Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  7. University of Minnesota: Human Rights Library
  8. "Alberto Dahik retorna al país en medio de apoyo y rechazo". El Universo (in Spanish). 23 December 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  9. "Alberto Dahik se presenta ante la Corte de Justicia". El Universo (in Spanish). 26 December 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  10. "Dahik absuelto por Corte Nacional de Justicia". El Universo (in Spanish). 20 January 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  11. "El juicio contra Alberto Dahik se archiva definitivamente - ABR. 25, 2013 - Política - Noticias de Ecuador y del mundo | El Universo". www.eluniverso.com. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
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