First Vice President and Second Vice President of the Republic of Peru | |
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Primer Vicepresidente Constitucional de la República Segundo Vicepresidente Constitucional de la República | |
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Incumbent since 7 December 2022 (First)First Vice President: Vacant (latest incumbentDina Boluarte) Second Vice President: Vacant (latest incumbentMercedes Aráoz) and 7 May 2020 (Second) | |
Residence | Government Palace |
Appointer | Onlydirect popular election |
Term length | Five years, renewable non-consecutively |
Inaugural holder | Diego de Aliaga (1823) Juan Antonio Pezet andPedro Diez Canseco (1862) |
Formation | 1823 (Vice President) 1862 (First Vice President and Second Vice President) |
Succession | First and Second |
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TheRepublic of Peru has twovice presidents, theFirst Vice President and theSecond Vice President, who are elected along with the President indemocraticelections.[1] Their only constitutional mission is to replace the President in case of death, permanent or temporary incapacity, resignation, being abroad without the permission of Congress, failure to return from abroad at fixed time, and/or dismissal or removal from office as allowed by the Constitution.Note 1[2] They cannot be appointed outside of general elections.
The First and Second Vice Presidents are first and second in thepresidential line of succession.[3] The leader ofCongress, thePresident of the Congress, follows the First Vice President and the Second Vice President in the line of succession.
In modern Peruvian history, two Vice Presidents have acceded to the presidency after the President could no longer serve,Martín Vizcarra andDina Boluarte. The 32nd First Vice President Martín Vizcarra assumed the office of the presidency in 2018 after the graft scandal that led to the resignation of PresidentPedro Pablo Kuczynski.[4] The 33rd First Vice President Dina Boluarte assumed the office of the presidency in 2022 after PresidentPedro Castilloattempted to dissolve Congress and was impeached and removed from the presidency.
Historically, the position was one of a sole Vice President, which was in place in the years 1829–1831 and 1858–1862. The dual positions of First and Second Vice Presidents have been in place since 1862.
The office of the First Vice President is currently vacant, the most recent First Vice President having beenDina Boluarte. The office of the Second Vice President is also currently vacant, the most recent Second Vice President having beenMercedes Aráoz.
The position of Vice President of Peru appeared for the first time in the Constitution of 1823:[5]
"ARTICLE 76: There will be aVice President in whom the same qualities concur. He/she will administer and withholdExecutive Power in event of thedeath,resignation, orimpeachment of thePresident, or when the president is unable to control the armed forces."Constitution of 1823
The Constitution of 1828 and theLife Constitution of 1826 also proposed only onevice president, who had to be appointed by thepresident. In the Constitution of 1834, the office was disbanded until the Magna Carta of 1856, which reinstated the sole vice-presidency.
The Constitution of 1860 established two vice-presidents, elected jointly with thePresident.
Article 89: "There will be two Vice Presidents of the Republic, named first and second, who will be elected at the same time, with the same qualities and for the same period as the President.Constitution of 1860
In the Constitution of 1867, the power of vice-presidents was eminently curtailed. However, this constitution held in place for a short period until a successful revolution of that same year restored the Constitution of 1860.
Similarly, the Constitution of 1920 abolished the positions of vice-presidents. The Constitution of 1933 failed to change this, but the office was eventually restored by the second presidency ofÓscar R. Benavides, by law on 1 April 1936. In 1939, via plebiscitary consultation, a constitutional amendment was made restoring the office of vice president and second vice president.
The 1993 Constitution and the current constitution in force — put forth by PresidentAlberto Fujimori — recognizes the double vice-presidency in the Executive Branch.
In recent history, there have been two instances where the First Vice President has acceded to the presidency after the President could no longer serve. The 32nd First Vice PresidentMartín Vizcarra assumed the office of the presidency in 2018 after the graft scandal that led to the resignation of PresidentPedro Pablo Kuczynski. The 33rd First Vice PresidentDina Boluarte assumed the office of the presidency in 2022 after PresidentPedro Castilloattempted to dissolve Congress and was impeached and removed from the presidency. No Second Vice President has recently acceded to the presidency.
The office of the First Vice President is currently vacant. The most recent First Vice President isDina Boluarte, who held the office until 7 December 2022 after PresidentPedro Castillo'sself-coup d'état attempt and removal from the presidency. The office of the Second Vice President is also currently vacant because Castillo's second running mate,Vladimir Cerrón, was disqualified by theNational Jury of Elections to run as Second Vice President in the2021 election due to Cerrón having served a prison sentence for corruption since 2019.[6][7]
The most recent Second Vice President isMercedes Aráoz, who held the office until her resignation was accepted by Congress on 7 May 2020.[8] Earlier, on 30 September 2019, thePeruvian Congress had been in the midst of the2019 Peruvian constitutional crisis and named Aráoz as Acting President after having declared President Martín Vizcarra unfit for office.[8][4][9] Given that Congress had itself been dissolved earlier that day by President Vizcarra and that Aráoz supported the Vizcarra's call for new congressional elections, she irrevocably resigned as Second Vice President on 1 October 2019, to leave Vizcarra as the sole claimant to the presidency. Aráoz's resignation was not accepted until 7 May 2020, by a newly elected Congress.[8][4][9][10][11][12]