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José Jerí | |
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.jpg) Jeri in 2025 | |
| 65th President of Peru | |
| Assumed office 10 October 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Eduardo Arana Ysa Ernesto Álvarez Miranda |
| Vice President |
|
| Preceded by | Dina Boluarte |
| President of Congress | |
| In office 26 July 2025 – 10 October 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Eduardo Salhuana |
| Succeeded by | Fernando Rospigliosi (acting) |
| Member of Congress | |
| In office 26 July 2021 – 10 October 2025 | |
| Constituency | Lima |
| Personal details | |
| Born | José Enrique Jerí Oré (1986-11-13)13 November 1986 (age 38) Lima, Peru |
| Political party | We Are Peru (2014–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (before 2014) |
| Alma mater | |
José Enrique Jerí Oré[a] (born 13 November 1986) is a Peruvian politician and lawyer who has been serving as the 65thpresident of Peru since 10 October 2025, following the impeachment and removal of his predecessorDina Boluarte.[1] Prior to assuming the presidency, Jerí waspresident of the Congress of the Republic from July to October 2025, having been a member ofCongress of the Republic representingLima for theWe Are Peru party since 2021.[2][3] He is the eighth Peruvian president in less than a decade, and, at 38 years old, the third youngest and the firstmillennial to serve as President of Peru.[1]
First elected to theCongress of the Republic as an alternate forMartín Vizcarra, who had been disqualified from his seat forallegedly jumping the line to get a COVID-19 vaccine,[4] Jerí held office as a member of the centristWe Are Peru party. On 26 July 2025, he was elected asPresident of the Congress of the Republic for the 2025–2026 annual session period.[1][5]
After the unanimousimpeachment and removal ofDina Boluarte on 10 October 2025 amidst the2025 Peruvian protests, Jerí assumed the presidency in his capacity as head of the legislative branch.[6] In his inaugural speech, Jerí pledged to "install and lead a government of transition, empathy, and national reconciliation", and said that the nation "must declare war on crime".[6][7]
José Jerí was born on 13 November 1986, in theJesús María District, located in the city ofLima. He graduated from theFederico Villarreal National University (UNFV), where he earned his bachelor's degree in Law in 2014. The following year, he earned his law degree from theInca Garcilaso de la Vega University.[7]
He is a member of the Law Review, formed by students from the UNFV Law School in Amauta, and also the founder of the Legal Society.[citation needed]
He held various positions in theAncash Regional Government from 2019 to 2020, also serving as Secretary General. He was an advisor to theWe Are Peru caucus in theCongress of the Republic in 2020.[8]
Since 2013, he has been affiliated with the political partyWe Are Peru. As a member, he served as youth secretary and alternate legal representative. He is currently the party's first vice president since September 2021.[9]
His first political participation took place in the 2013 Lima municipal elections as a candidate for theLima Municipality council with the backing ofFernando Andrade [es], though Jerí was not elected. He ran again unsuccessfully in the 2014 elections.[10] From November 2015 to April 2016, he was a delegate and member of theAlliance for the Progress of Peru coalition led byCésar Acuña because the party he belonged to,We Are Peru, was a member of saidelectoral alliance.
In the2021 parliamentary elections, José Jerí ran for theCongress of the Republic on behalf ofWe Are Peru in theLima Metropolitan electoral list of, running as number 3 on the candidate list. Despite obtaining only 11,654 preferential votes, Jerí managed to be elected as acongressman of the republic for the2021–2026 parliamentary term due to thedisqualification of winning candidateMartín Vizcarra, a former president who obtained 208,387 preferential votes in the election, from holding any public office.[11]
In July 2021, he ran for president of Congress for the 2021–2022 term, but was unsuccessful.[12]
During thethird presidential impeachment process against Pedro Castillo, Jerí voted in favour of declaringmoral incapacity ofPedro Castillo. The vacancy was approved by 101 parliamentarians on 7 December 2022.
He served as president of the Budget Committee during the 2023–2024 legislative year. He served as spokesperson for theWe Are Peru party. He was one of the congressmen who supported the dismissal of the fiscal investigations intoDina Boluarte.[13]
On 26 July 2025, he was elected asPresident of the Congress of the Republic for the 2025–2026 annual session period with the votes ofFree Peru,Popular Force,Alliance for Progress,Acción Popular,Avanza País andWe Are Peru.[1][5]
Following his controversial election as President of Congress due to his background, Jerí stated in an interview with the Peruvian newspaperEl Comercio in August that he would refrain from assuming the presidency of the executive branch, according to the constitutional line of succession, in the event thatBoluarte were removed from office by Congress. He expressed the following for such a scenario (translated from Spanish):[14][15]
“I was elected to be President of Congress. I’m not going to say I’m unaware of the procedures of constitutional succession, right? But from my perspective, the presidency should be constitutionally renewed on July 28, 2026. If that scenario you mention were to occur, I would personally refrain from assuming it.”[14][15]
Amidst the2025 Peruvian protests and after the unanimousimpeachment and removal ofDina Boluarte on 10 October 2025, owing to persistent political scandals throughout her presidency and a mismanaged crime wave earlier in the month, José Jerí immediately ascended asPresident of Peru. With Boluarte having no vice presidents, Jerí, as president of the legislature, stood next in the line of succession established in the Peruvian Constitution.[6][16][17] He became the sixth individual to serve as President since the resignation ofPedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2018, a span of just over seven years.[18] He will serve out the final year of the term to whichPedro Castillo was initially elected in 2021; Castillo was removed in 2022 in favor of Boluarte.
In his inaugural speech, Jerí pledged to "install and lead a government of transition, empathy, and national reconciliation", and said that the nation "must declare war on crime".[6][7]
Despite the removal of President Dina Boluarte, theCongress of the Republic rejected a motion of censure against prime ministerEduardo Arana Ysa, meaning that the Boluarte cabinet carried over into the presidency of José Jerí.[1]
Protests against Jerí grew due to allegations of sexual assault.[19] He refused to resign, stating "My responsibility is to maintain the stability of the country."[20]
On 22 October 2025, Jerí declared a state of emergency in Lima due to increased crime.[21]
In February 2022, during the third wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Peru, Jerí was photographed entering a bar in theMiraflores district with a young woman who worked as an assistant in his congressional office, to celebrate the birthday of Claudia Llanos Vidal, an official from the municipality ofLa Molina. According to reports, Jerí was seen drinking with guests and disregarding social-distancing rules despite a decree from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers enforcing restrictions due to the pandemic.[22][23]
In January 2025, Jerí was formally accused ofsexual assault following aNew Year's Eve party inCanta. The alleged incident took place at the Santa Rosa Casa Club inQuives on 29 December 2024, where Jerí was with a group of friends. Among the guests was Marco Antonio Cardoza Hurtado, who had arrived with a 31-year-old woman (the complainant) and another person. According to the complainant, she lost consciousness that afternoon and later woke up with pain in her intimate parts. The complaint identified both Jerí and Cardoza as suspects.[1][24][25]
The Civil Court ofCanta admitted the complaint, issued protective measures for the alleged victim, and ordered Jerí to undergo psychological treatment for impulsive andpathologicalsexual behavior. Despite being temporarily suspended by his party, he reportedly failed to comply with the court order for more than five months. As a result, Attorney GeneralDelia Espinoza filed a separate complaint for disobedience to authority, citing Article 368 of the Criminal Code.[26]
On 12 August 2025, the Public Prosecutor's Office, now led by Tomás Gálvez, dismissed the case against Jerí for the alleged assault after determining there was insufficient evidence to proceed. It was also reported that Cardoza Hurtado, the other suspect, had left Peru forFrance on 4 February without notifying prosecutors and failed to appear for the collection of biological samples.[27][28]
The television programMilagros Leiva, entrevista reported an alleged case ofillicit enrichment involving Jerí, noting a sharp increase in his declared assets. In 2021 he declared ownership of two vehicles worth S/ 97,000soles, but by 2024 he reportedly owned properties valued at more than one million soles.[26][29][30]
The investigative television programPanorama alleged that Jerí had received abribe of S/ 150,000soles from a businesswoman named Blanca Ríos. The alleged payment took place in November 2023, when Jerí chaired the congressional budget committee, in connection with the approval of public works projects under the portfolio of theMinistry of Economy and Finance. According to Ríos's testimony, the payment was made to secure funding for anirrigation project in theCajamarca region. The case also implicated congresswoman Ana Zegarra, spokesperson for the We Are Peru party, and Nahum Hidalgo, an advisor to theSomos Perú parliamentary group. Jerí denied the accusation, stating he had no connection with the person involved and declared that he would cooperate with all investigations.[31][32][33]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of Congress 2025 | Succeeded by TBD |
| Preceded by | President of Peru 2025–present | Incumbent |
1 President is a non-participant; Taiwan is represented asChinese Taipei. |
Current heads of state of South American countries | |
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