The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Honduras

This page contains a list of the greatest Honduran Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 21 of which were born in Honduras. This makes Honduras the birth place of the 101st most number of Politicians behind Costa Rica, and Jordan.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Honduran Politicians of all time. This list of famous Honduran Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Honduran Politicians.

1. Francisco Morazán (1792 - 1842)

With an HPI of 57.05, Francisco Morazán is the most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages on wikipedia.

José Francisco Morazán Quesada (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈsisko moɾaˈsan]; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president of Central America he was the head of state of Honduras. He rose to prominence at the Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827. Morazán then dominated the political and military scene of Central America until his execution in 1842. In the political arena, Francisco Morazán was recognized as a visionary and great thinker, as he attempted to transform Central America into one large and progressive nation. He enacted liberal reforms in the new Federal Republic of Central America, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Morazán also limited church power by making marriage secular and abolishing government-aided tithing. These reforms made him some powerful enemies, and his period of rule was marked by bitter infighting between liberals and conservatives. But through his military skills, Morazán was able to keep a firm grip on power until 1837, when the Federal Republic became irrevocably fractured. This was exploited by the conservative leaders, who rallied around the leadership of Rafael Carrera and in order to protect their own interests, ended up dividing Central America into five nations.

2. Manuel Zelaya (b. 1952)

With an HPI of 56.61, Manuel Zelaya is the 2nd most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (born September 20, 1952) is a Honduran politician who was 35th President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until his forcible removal in the 2009 coup d'état, and who since January 2022 serves as the first First Gentleman of Honduras. He is the eldest son of a wealthy businessman, and inherited his father's nickname "Mel". Before entering politics he was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses. Elected as a liberal, Zelaya shifted to the political left during his presidency, forging an alliance with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas known as ALBA. On June 28, 2009, during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, he was seized by the military and sent to Costa Rica in a coup d'état. On September 21, 2009, he returned to Honduras clandestinely and resurfaced in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. In 2010, he left Honduras for the Dominican Republic, an exile that lasted more than a year. He now represents Honduras as a deputy of the Central American Parliament. Since January 1976 Zelaya has been married to Xiomara Castro, the current President of Honduras, elected in the 2021 general election. Upon his wife's inauguration, Zelaya became the first "First Gentleman" in Honduran history.

3. Xiomara Castro (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 56.37, Xiomara Castro is the 3rd most famous Honduran Politician. Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento (Spanish pronunciation: [ˌsjoˈmaɾa ˈkastɾo]; born 30 September 1959), also known as Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, is a Honduran politician who has served as the 39th president of Honduras since January 2022. She is the country's first female president, and served as first lady during the presidency of her husband Manuel Zelaya. Castro grew up in Tegucigalpa. She married Zelaya in 1976 and became active in the women's section of the Liberal Party of Honduras. She became the country's first lady in 2006 following her husband's victory in the 2005 Honduran presidential election. Castro became involved in the National Popular Resistance Front after her husband's refusal to comply with a Supreme Court order led to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état, forcing him into exile. She was nominated as the presidential candidate of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) party at the 2013 Honduran general election, finishing runner-up to National Party of Honduras candidate Juan Orlando Hernández and outpolling Liberal candidate Mauricio Villeda. At the 2017 Honduran general election, she was Salvador Nasralla's running mate, with the ticket narrowly losing to Hernández amidst allegations of irregularities. Castro was ultimately elected to the presidency in the 2021 Honduran general election, defeating National candidate Nasry Asfura with Nasralla as her running mate. She is the first president from outside the country's two-party system since democracy was restored in 1982. In 2023, she was ranked in the Forbes list of "World's 100 most powerful women".

4. Porfirio Lobo Sosa (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 55.07, Porfirio Lobo Sosa is the 4th most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Porfirio Lobo Sosa (born January 22, 1947) also known by his nickname, Pepe Lobo, is a former Honduran politician businessman and agricultural landowner who served as 37th President of Honduras from January 27, 2010 to January 27, 2014. A member of the conservative National Party and a former deputy in the National Congress of Honduras from January 25, 1990, he was president of the National Congress of Honduras from January 25, 2002 to January 25, 2006. He came second to Manuel Zelaya with 46% of the vote in the 2005 general election. After the military ousted Zelaya in a coup d'état, Lobo was elected president in the 2009 presidential election and took office on January 27, 2010.

5. Roberto Micheletti (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 52.97, Roberto Micheletti is the 5th most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Roberto Micheletti Baín (born August 13, 1943) is a Honduran politician who served as the interim and 36th president of Honduras from June 28, 2009 to January 27, 2010 as a result of the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. The Honduran military ousted the President, and the National Congress read a letter of resignation, which was refuted two minutes later by Manuel Zelaya in conversation with CNN en Español; days later, the coup-plotters claimed that the Supreme Court had ordered to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya because "he was violating the Honduran constitution"; Zelaya was exiled rather than arrested. Micheletti, constitutionally next in line for the presidency, was sworn in as president by the National Congress a few hours after Zelaya was sent into exile by the Honduran military. He was not acknowledged as de jure president by any government or international organization. The 2009 general election took place as planned in November and elected Porfirio Lobo Sosa to succeed Micheletti. Before serving as president, Micheletti was the president of Honduras' National Congress. A deputy in Congress since 1982, Micheletti is currently a member of the Liberal Party of Honduras.

6. Oswaldo López Arellano (1921 - 2010)

With an HPI of 52.59, Oswaldo López Arellano is the 6th most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Oswaldo Enrique López Arellano (30 June 1921 – 16 May 2010) was a Honduran politician who twice served as the President of Honduras, first from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1972 until 1975.

7. Juan Lindo (1790 - 1857)

With an HPI of 51.24, Juan Lindo is the 7th most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Juan Nepomuceno Fernández Lindo y Zelaya (generally known as Juan Lindo) (16 May 1790, Tegucigalpa, Honduras – 23 April 1857, Gracias, Honduras) was a Conservative Central American politician, provisional president of the Republic of El Salvador from 1841 to 1842 and of the Republic of Honduras from 1847 to 1852.

8. Tiburcio Carías Andino (1876 - 1969)

With an HPI of 50.75, Tiburcio Carías Andino is the 8th most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Tiburcio Carías Andino (5 March 1876 – 23 December 1969) was a Honduran politician and military officer with the rank of major general. He served as the 38th president of Honduras, briefly in 1924 as constitutional president and later in the form of a dictatorial regime from 1933 until 1949. He was elected president of Honduras in the midst of the Great Depression. He strengthened the Armed Forces, maintained the support of the banana companies by opposing strikes, strongly aligned its government with that of the United States, and kept the country in strict adherence to debt payments.

9. Juan Orlando Hernández (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 48.77, Juan Orlando Hernández is the 9th most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 51 different languages.

Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan oɾˈlando eɾˈnandes]; born October 28, 1968), also known by his initials JOH, is a Honduran lawyer, politician and convicted drug trafficker who was 38th president of Honduras from January 27, 2014 to January 27, 2022 for two consecutive terms. A member of the National Party, Hernández previously served as the president of the National Congress of Honduras between January 2010 and June 2013, when he was given permission by the Congress to absent himself from all responsibilities in the Congress to dedicate himself to his presidential campaign. He announced that he would seek re-election in 2017, after the Supreme Court allowed it in April 2015. On 15 December 2016, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal decided, by two votes to one, to allow Hernández to stand in the primary elections by the National Party of Honduras on 12 March 2017. On 12 March 2017, he won the National Party's primary vote to allow him to represent his party during the 2017 Honduran general election on 26 November 2017. In the elections, Hernández was declared the winner by a narrow margin (0.5%), after a reelection campaign criticized as fraudulent by OAS, while the United States recognized Hernández as the official winner. On January 27, 2022, the same day he ceased to be president, he was sworn as a member of the Central American Parliament. On 1 July 2021, Hernández had his visa revoked by the U.S. Department of State, due to involvements in corruption and in the illegal drug trade. This measure was made public on 7 February 2022, less than two weeks after he was succeeded by Xiomara Castro. On 14 February, he was surrounded by the national police and DEA agents at his home in Tegucigalpa, after the U.S. government had requested his extradition for his involvement with narcotics. On 15 February 2022, he agreed to surrender to US authorities, and on 21 April, Hernández was extradited to the United States. On 8 March 2024, Hernández was convicted of three counts of drug trafficking and weapons conspiracy, and on 26 June of that year, he was sentenced to 45 years of prison.

10. Ramón Villeda Morales (1909 - 1971)

With an HPI of 47.54, Ramón Villeda Morales is the 10th most famous Honduran Politician. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

José Ramón Adolfo "el Pajarito" Villeda Morales (November 26, 1909 – October 8, 1971) served as President of Honduras from 1957 to 1963.

People

Pantheon has 24 people classified as Honduran politicians born between 1790 and 1972. Of these 24, 7 (29.17%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Honduran politicians include Manuel Zelaya, Xiomara Castro, and Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The most famous deceased Honduran politicians include Francisco Morazán, Oswaldo López Arellano, and Juan Lindo. As of April 2024, 3 new Honduran politicians have been added to Pantheon including Rafael López Gutiérrez, Julio Lozano Díaz, and José María Medina.