The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Peru

This page contains a list of the greatest Peruvian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 82 of which were born in Peru. This makes Peru the birth place of the 40th most number of Politicians behind Brazil, and Syria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Peruvian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Peruvian 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 Peruvian Politicians.

1. Atahualpa (1502 - 1533)

With an HPI of 73.74, Atahualpa is the most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 68 different languages on wikipedia.

Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – July 1533), was the last effective Inca emperor before his capture and execution during the Spanish conquest. Atahualpa was the son of the emperor Huayna Cápac, who died around 1525 along with his successor, Ninan Cuyochi, in a smallpox epidemic. Atahualpa initially accepted his half-brother Huáscar as the new emperor, who in turn appointed him as governor of Quito in the north of the empire. The uneasy peace between them deteriorated over the next few years. From 1529 to 1532, they contested the succession in the Inca Civil War, in which Atahualpa's forces defeated and captured Huáscar. Around the same time as Atahualpa's victory, a group of Spanish conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, arrived in the region. In November, they captured Atahualpa during an ambush at Cajamarca. In captivity, Atahualpa gave a ransom in exchange for a promise of release and arranged for the execution of Huáscar. After receiving the ransom, the Spanish accused Atahualpa of treason, conspiracy against the Spanish Crown, and the murder of Huáscar. They put him on trial and sentenced him to death by burning at the stake. However, after his baptism in July 1533, he was garroted instead. A line of successors continued to claim the title of emperor, either as Spanish vassals or as rebel leaders, but none were able to hold comparable power.

2. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (1920 - 2020)

With an HPI of 71.17, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar is the 2nd most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 76 different languages.

Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra ( PERR-ess də KWAY-yar, Spanish: [xaˈβjeɾ ˈpeɾes ðe ˈkweʝaɾ]; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Minister of Peru from 2000 to 2001. Pérez de Cuéllar was a member of the Club of Madrid, a group of former heads of state and government, and the Inter-American Dialogue.

3. Alberto Fujimori (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 70.11, Alberto Fujimori is the 3rd most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 70 different languages.

Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈβeɾto ˈkeɲɟʝa fuxiˈmoɾi inoˈmoto], Japanese: 藤森謙也, Hepburn: Fujimori Kenya, Japanese pronunciation: [ɸɯʑiꜜmoɾi keꜜɰ̃ja]; born 26 July 1938) is a Peruvian former politician, professor, and engineer who served as President of Peru from 1990 to 2000. Fujimori, a Peruvian of Japanese descent, was an agricultural engineer and university rector before entering politics. Frequently described as a dictator, his tenure is marked by both significant economic reforms and severe human rights abuses. Fujimori's tenure began with his unexpected victory in the 1990 general election. He quickly implemented neoliberal economic reforms to address hyperinflation and economic instability, which won him initial support from international financial institutions, the military and the Peruvian upper class. His administration soon became known for its authoritarian practices. In 1992, Fujimori carried out a self-coup, dissolving Congress and assuming extraordinary powers. Notably, his government was linked to forced sterilizations and the violent suppression of the Shining Path insurgency. Despite these controversies, many Peruvians view his leadership period favourably due to the perceived restoration of stability and economic growth. He was re-elected in 1995 and controversially again in 2000 amid allegations of electoral fraud. In 2000, facing mounting allegations of widespread corruption, crimes against humanity and human rights abuses in his government, Fujimori fled to Japan. He was later arrested in Chile in 2005 and extradited to Peru, where he was tried and convicted on multiple charges, including human rights violations and embezzlement. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison but was released in December 2023 following a controversial court order. Fujimori remains a polarizing figure in Peruvian politics, with a legacy notably through his daughter Keiko Fujimori, who has run for the presidency multiple times.

4. Túpac Amaru (1545 - 1572)

With an HPI of 69.30, Túpac Amaru is the 4th most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Tupaq Amaru or Thupa Amaru (14 April 1545 – 24 September 1572) (first name also spelled Túpac, Tupac, Topa, Tupaq, Thupaq, Thupa, last name also spelled Amaro instead of Amaru) was the last Sapa Inca of the Neo-Inca State, the final remaining independent part of the Inca Empire. He was executed by the Spanish following a months-long pursuit after the fall of the Neo-Inca State.: 11 His name is derived from the Quechua words thupaq, meaning "royal" or "shining" and amaru, which can either mean "snake" or refer to the snake-like being from Andean mythology.

5. Pachacuti (1380 - 1460)

With an HPI of 67.44, Pachacuti is the 5th most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, also called Pachacútec (Quechua: Pachakutiy Inka Yupanki), was the ninth Sapa Inca of the Chiefdom of Cusco, which he transformed into the Inca Empire (Quechua: Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu was built as an estate for Pachacuti. In Quechua, the cosmogonical concept of Pachakutiy means 'the turn of the world' and Yupanki could mean 'honorable lord'. During his reign, Cusco grew from a hamlet into an empire that could compete with, and eventually overtake, the Chimú empire on the northern coast. He began an era of conquest that, within three generations, expanded the Inca dominion from the valley of Cusco to a sizeable part of western South America. According to the inca chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, Pachacuti created the Inti Raymi to celebrate the new year in the Andes of the Southern Hemisphere. Pachacuti is often linked to the origin and expansion of the Inti Sun Cult. Accessing power following the Inca-Chanka war, Pachacuti conquered territories around lake Titicaca and lake Poopó in the south, parts of the eastern slopes of the Andes mountains near the Amazon rainforest in the east, lands up to the Quito bassin in the north, and lands from Tumbes to possibly the coastal regions from Nazca and Camaná to Tarapacá. These conquests were achieved with the help of many military commanders, and they initiated Inca imperial expansion in the Andes. Pachacuti is considered by some anthropologists to be the first historical emperor of the Incas, and by others to be a mythological and cosmological representation of the beginning of the era of inca imperial expansion.

6. Manco Inca Yupanqui (1512 - 1544)

With an HPI of 64.50, Manco Inca Yupanqui is the 6th most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Manqu Inka Yupanki (Quechua) (around 1515 – 1544) (Manco Inca Yupanqui in Spanish) was the founder and monarch (Sapa Inca) of the independent Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, although he was originally a puppet Inca Emperor installed by the Spaniards. He was also known as "Manco II" and "Manco Cápac II". He was one of the sons of Huayna Capac and a younger brother of Huascar.: 150

7. Huáscar (1490 - 1533)

With an HPI of 63.02, Huáscar is the 7th most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: Waskar Inka) also Guazcar (before 1527 – 1532) was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Quito.: 112, 117–119

8. Topa Inca Yupanqui (1441 - 1493)

With an HPI of 62.96, Topa Inca Yupanqui is the 8th most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui (Quechua: 'Tupaq Inka Yupanki'), also Topa Inga Yupangui, translated as "noble Inca accountant," (before 1471 – 1493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–93) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pachacuti, and his son was Huayna Capac.: 93 Topa Inca belonged to the Qhapaq panaca (one of the clans of Inca nobles). His qoya (principal wife) was his older sister, Mama Ocllo.: 88

9. Viracocha Inca (1310 - 1438)

With an HPI of 62.26, Viracocha Inca is the 9th most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Wiraqucha (Quechua, the name of a god) or Viracocha (in hispanicized spelling) (c. 1410 – 1438) was the eighth Sapa Inka of the Kingdom of Qusqo (beginning around 1410) and the third of the Hanan dynasty.

10. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 60.77, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is the 10th most famous Peruvian Politician. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Godard (Spanish: [kuˈtʃinski ɣoˈðaɾð]; born 3 October 1938), also known simply as PPK (Spanish: [pepeˈka]), is a Peruvian economist, public administrator, and former politician who served as the 59th President of Peru from 2016 to 2018. He served as Prime Minister of Peru and as Minister of Economy and Finance during the presidency of Alejandro Toledo. Kuczynski resigned from the presidency on 23 March 2018, following a successful impeachment vote and days before a probable conviction vote. Since 10 April 2019 he has been in pretrial detention, due to an ongoing investigation on corruption, money laundering, and connections to Odebrecht, a public works company accused of paying bribes. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was born in the Miraflores District of Lima to parents who fled from Germany after the Nazis came to power. Kuczynski worked in the United States before entering Peruvian politics. He held positions at both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund before being designated the general manager of Peru's Central Reserve Bank. He later served as Minister of Energy and Mines in the early 1980s under President Fernando Belaúnde Terry, and as Minister of Economy and Finance and Prime Minister under President Alejandro Toledo in the 2000s. Kuczynski was a presidential candidate in the 2011 presidential election, placing third. His opponents Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori went on to the 5 June 2011 runoff election, in which Humala was elected. Kuczynski went on to stand in the 2016 election, where he narrowly defeated Fujimori in the second round. He was sworn in as president on 28 July 2016. On 15 December 2017, the Congress of Peru, which was controlled by the opposition Popular Force, initiated impeachment proceedings against Kuczynski, after he was accused of lying about receiving payments from the scandal-hit Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht in the mid-2000s. However, on 21 December 2017, the Peruvian Congress lacked the majority of votes needed to impeach Kuczynski. After further scandals and facing a second impeachment vote, Kuczynski resigned from the presidency on 21 March 2018 following the release of videos showing alleged acts of vote buying, presenting his resignation to the Council of Ministers. He was succeeded as president by his First Vice President Martín Vizcarra. On 28 April 2019, Kuczynski was placed under house arrest while under investigation for allegedly taking bribes from Odebrecht.

People

Pantheon has 94 people classified as Peruvian politicians born between 1260 and 1990. Of these 94, 33 (35.11%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Peruvian politicians include Alberto Fujimori, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, and Dina Boluarte. The most famous deceased Peruvian politicians include Atahualpa, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, and Túpac Amaru. As of April 2024, 13 new Peruvian politicians have been added to Pantheon including Dina Boluarte, Vladimiro Montesinos, and Manuel Scorza.