Ricardo Quiñónez Lemus is a Guatemalan politician serving as mayor of Guatemala City since April 30, 2018. Previously he served as First Councilor of the Municipal Council of Guatemala City from 2008 until 2018.
Early life and education
He has a High School degree with a specialization in Business Administration, He got his title from the Monterrey Technological Institute known as TEC of Monterrey. He got a Business Administration Master Degree in Marketing specialization from the University of Bridgeport, where he received the “President´s Award” for his performance.
Career
He started his career as a high level executive in the Aviation Company Aviateca and TACA in 1990; he was the Airport Services Director in charge. He began working in public service in 1996, when Guatemala’s President Alvaro Arzú put him in charge of the Presidential Commission for the National Geographic Information System. As Delegate, he was responsible to organize the National Geographic Information democratization process, and to reorganize the Military Geographic Institute, He also coordinated the transformation of the National Geographic Institute from the Army control to the civil public control. He was named as Economic Planification General Secretary by the President Arzu in 1997 after he ended the tasks he was in charge. He was as General Secretary for three years until the President`s time ended, as a result the Guatemala Government made several changes in different organizations, ended in this time the Economic Planification National Council General Secretary, in the Presidency Republic Planification and Programation Secretary, and with this in the transformation of the process of planning and programming the public inversion, the negotiation and continuity of the international cooperation. He was responsible of the strategy design of the external Peace Process consolidation and edification support resources. In this field he was designated to coordinate the Antigua Guatemala’s consultive groups in 1997, Brussels 1998, Washington 1998, and Stockholm 1999. By the Ministers Council order he was in charge to be the State General Secretary during the President Alvaro Arzu’s government, this included to be in charge of the reconstruction of the country after the Mitch Hurricane passed. In the General Elections of 2003, he was elected “First Syndic” of Guatemala´s Municipal Corporation that was presided for Guatemala´s City Mayor Alvaro Arzu, in 2007, after he was re-elected for the time of 2008-2012 in the same council, and he was re-elected again for two more periods 2021-2016 and 2016-2020. As businessman he has created Technology and Consultory companies. He has also participated in the development of the country through his collaboration in different associations with non-profit interest as the Guatemalan Managers Association, where he was a member of the board of directors for two periods of time, he was council from the University del Itsmo, he also was part of the board of directors of the Integral Development Foundation as well as from the Guatemala´s Rotary Club, he also participated in the Americas Family Foundation. He obtained he title of Guatemala´s City Mayor on April 30, 2018 since the Mayor Alvaro Arzu passed away and he concluded the period of time as Mayor. On November 24, 2018 he received the award “Beca de Honor” from the board of directors of his first school “Colegio El Roble”. On June 16, 2019 he approved the general elections for Guatemala´s City Mayor for the period 2020-2024.
