Yamandú Orsi | |
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.jpg) Orsi in 2025 | |
| 43rd President of Uruguay | |
| Assumed office 1 March 2025 | |
| Vice President | Carolina Cosse |
| Preceded by | Luis Lacalle Pou |
| 22nd and 24th[citation needed] Intendant of theCanelones Department | |
| In office 26 November 2020 – 1 March 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Tabaré Costa |
| Succeeded by | Marcelo Metediera |
| In office 9 July 2015 – 6 February 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Gabriela Garrido |
| Succeeded by | Tabaré Costa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Yamandú Ramón Antonio Orsi Martínez (1973-03-24)24 March 1973 (age 52) Canelones Department, Uruguay |
| Political party | Broad Front (since 1990) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | Laura Alonsopérez |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Salinas, Uruguay |
| Alma mater | Instituto de Profesores Artigas |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
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Yamandú Ramón Antonio Orsi Martínez[1][a] (born 13 June 1967) is a Uruguayan politician and history teacher who has been the 43rdpresident of Uruguay since March 2025.[2] A member of the left-wingMovement of Popular Participation, the main faction of theBroad Front party, he served as intendant of theCanelones Department from 2015 to February 2020, and a second term from November 2020 to 2024.[3][4][5][6]
A graduate from theInstituto de Profesores Artigas in 1991 as a history teacher, he worked in different secondary schools in the Canelones,Florida, andMaldonado departments.[7] He became politically active during his adolescence, being part of theVertiente Artiguista until 1990, when he joined theMovement of Popular Participation (MPP) that had been founded the previous year.
Yamandú Ramón Antonio Orsi Martínez was born in the rural area of theCanelones Department on 13 June 1967. He is the second child, with an older sister, María del Luján, and the only son of Pablo "Bebe" Orsi, arural worker, and Carmen "Beba" Martínez, aseamstress.[8][9]
Orsi is of paternalItalian descent, tracing his heritage toOsiglia, a municipality situated in the province ofSavona, in theLiguria region of Italy.[10] Orsi claims that the first of his paternal ancestorsimmigrated to Uruguay at the beginning of the 19th century.[11] Following his presidential election victory, Paola Scarzella, the current mayor of Osiglia, congratulated Orsi and expressed her pride upon learning of his ancestral ties.[12] Italian news outlets revealed that Orsi is the great-grandson of Giovanni Orsi, a native of Osiglia who immigrated to Uruguay.[13] On his maternal side, he is ofSpanish descent whose ancestors were one of the first settlers inMontevideo from theCanary Islands.[14][15]
Raised in a rural area between the towns ofSanta Rosa andSan Antonio, the family struggled financially during Orsi's adolescence years and, for a time, lived in a house without electricity.[16] At the age of five, he moved to the city ofCanelones due to his father's spine disease, which prevented him from working in the fields.[17] The family set up a grocery store there, where Orsi began his primary studies at Primary School No. 110 and his secondary studies at the LiceoTomás Berreta.[18]
Coming from aRoman Catholic family, Orsi was analtar boy for the neighborhood chapel.[19] In his adolescence, he practicedfolk dance, and at the age of fifteen, he won a contest to be part of a municipal cast, which he integrated until he was 26.[20] In turn, in his teens he became politically active, militating in theVertiente Artiguista until 1990, when he joined theMovement of Popular Participation (MPP). He began by participating in a collection of signatures for the1989 amnesty referendum on theLaw on the Expiration of the Punitive Claims of the State.[21]
In 1972, he settled with his family in the city ofCanelones. , This was due to his father's spinal disease, which prevented him from working in the fields.[22] In the departmental capital, the couple set up a business, and Orsi attended School No. 110 "Tres Esquinas" and Liceo Tomás Berreta.[23]
In 1986, he began a degree ininternational relations at theUniversity of the Republic, however, he dropped out after a month. Subsequently, he enrolled at theInstituto de Profesores Artigas in Montevideo to study for a teaching post in history in secondary education, graduating in 1991.[24]
In 2004, while still working as a history teacher inMaldonado, he ran unsuccessfully for theChamber of Representatives as the fourth candidate on the electoral list of theMovement of Popular Participation in theCanelones Department.[25] In early 2005, he was announced asMarcos Carámbula's [es] first alternate in his candidacy for Intendant of Canelones. Following Carámbulas's victory in themunicipal elections of that year, Orsi was appointed Secretary General of the Intendancy.[26] After the2010 election, he was confirmed in office after the re-election of the Carámbula administration.[27] Since July 2005, he has been a member of the national and departmental board in Canelones of theMovement of Popular Participation.[26]
In early March 2015, he resigned to run for Intendant. His candidacy was supported by various sectors of theBroad Front, such as the MPP, theCommunist Party, theVertiente Artiguista, and Casa Grande.[28] In the2015 election, he was elected Intendant of the Canelones Department with 37% of the vote, being the candidate with the most votes from the party with the most votes, according to theLey de Lemas system.[29] He took office on 9 July 2015.[30] In October 2019, facing the second round of thegeneral election, Orsi was appointed campaign manager forBroad Front nomineeDaniel Martínez Villamil.[31][32] On 7 February 2020, he resigned from the position of Intendant of Canelones, being succeeded by Tabaré Costa.[33] However, he launched his campaign for re-election, and in themunicipal election of that year, he was re-elected in office.[34]
After theBroad Front's electoral defeat in the2019 general election, Orsi began to be seen as a contender for the2024 presidential primaries.[35] On 19 March 2023, theMovement of Popular Participation officially announced its support for his candidacy.[36] He also received the support of theVertiente Artiguista and other leftist sectors of the party.[37] On 9 December 2023, during the Broad Front Congress, Orsi's candidacy was made official, as well as that ofMario Bergara,Carolina Cosse, andAndrés Lima.[38]
Orsi was the Broad Front's candidate for president in the2024 Uruguayan general election. He emerged with a plurality of 43.2–44% in the first round on 27 October and facedÁlvaro Delgado of theCoalición Multicolor in the runoff on 24 November,[39] which Orsi won.[40][41] After the projection of the results, he was congratulated by several heads of state across the world, including fromGabriel Boric,Nicolás Maduro, andClaudia Sheinbaum. Additionally, he was also congratulated by international politicians such asYolanda Díaz,Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, andMauricio Macri. After the night of the presidential runoff, Orsi's first public activity as president-elect was visiting former presidentJosé Mujica and his wife, former vice presidentLucía Topolansky, at their private residence in the outskirts ofMontevideo. The following day, outgoing presidentLuis Lacalle Pou chaired a meeting with the nation'scabinet to plan out the presidential transition for Orsi.[42]
On 23 September, during his campaign ahead of the 2024 general elections, Orsi announced his first cabinet member, economistGabriel Oddone would proceed as theMinistry of Economy and Finance during his administration.[43] On 27 November, Orsi assignedAlejandro Sánchez Pereira to serve as theSecretary of the Presidency.[44] In the following days, Orsi began appointing more representatives for his upcoming administration, includingAlfredo Fratti, recommended by José Mujica himself, asMinister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries, andCristina Lustemberg asMinister of Public Health, among others.[45][46] By 16 December, Orsi officially announced all the members of his cabinet.[47]
Upon his election as president-elect, Orsi met with several international politicians in the preceding days to discuss relations between Uruguay and their nation, including meetings on 28 November, with theChinese Ambassador to Uruguay, Huang Yazhong, who delivered him a letter fromGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyXi Jinping to congratulate his win and in hopes of deepen ties with China,[48] and withLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva inBrasília to discuss infrastructure projects.[49]
On 6 December, the 2024 summit ofMercosur began in Montevideo, where Orsi participated as an invited guest of former President Lacalle Pou. At the summit, the final text of theMercosur–European Union free trade agreement was concluded after nearly 25 years of negotiations, during which, Orsi held bilateral meetings with regional leaders, includingLuis Arce,Santiago Peña, andGustavo Petro.[50]
On 2 February 2025, Orsi announced that he would not be moving to theofficial presidential residence in Montevideo and would instead continue to live in his residence in Salinas.[51]
Orsi is married toLaura Alonsopérez [es], an actress and ballet dancer originally fromMaldonado.[52] Together, the couple have two children, twins Lucía and Victorio, born in 2012.[53] Orsi resides with his family in the municipality ofSalinas.[54] Despite his Catholic upbringing, Orsi now considers himself anagnostic.[55] Orsi is an avidassociation football fan and a supporter ofClub Atlético Peñarol.[56]
