Luis Lacalle Pou

Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (Latin American Spanish: [ˈlwis laˈkaʝe ˈpow], locally [ˈlwih laˈkaʒe ˈpow, -aʃe -]; born 11 August 1973), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, who served as the 42nd president of Uruguay from 2020 to 2025.

The son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle Pou attended The British Schools of Montevideo and graduated from the Catholic University of Uruguay in 1998 with a law degree. A member of the National Party, he was first elected to the Chamber of Representatives in the 1999 election as a National Representative for the Canelones Department, a position he held from 2000 to 2015. During the first session of the 47th Legislature (2011–2012) he chaired the lower house of the General Assembly. He also served as Senator from 2015 to 2019. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2014.

Five years later, he defeated the Broad Front nominee and former mayor of Montevideo Daniel Martínez in the 2019 general election and was elected President of Uruguay with 50.79% of the vote in the second round. At the age of 46, Lacalle Pou ended the 15 years of leftist rule in the country and became the youngest president since the end of the dictatorship in 1985.

During his presidency, Lacalle Pou oversaw several reforms to retirement and pension laws and the education system. He led Uruguay's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination rollout, for which he won praise and high approval ratings for his successful handling of the virus. In April 2020, his administration presented a bill under the constitutional label of "Urgent Consideration Law", which after being enacted on July 8, 2020, introduced reforms and restructuring in various areas. After an opposition campaign, a referendum was held in March 2022 to ask the electorate whether 135 articles of the law should be repealed, with the option to keep them in force winning.