AGGIE - Is next president of Bolivia

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[OG Caution: Please try to restrain yourselves--Sweetie is an Aggie Corps of Cadets/Fightin' Aggie Band alumnus, although he is not a president of any country. Except for himself, there is no Aggie memorabilia in this house. He still has his jodphurs and boots, though.]

Dallas MN

Aggies can claim world-leader fame

Bolivia's next president is an A&M grad

08/02/2001

By Brenda Rodriguez / The Dallas Morning News

Texas A&M Aggies have hit another milestone – they are taking over Bolivia.

A&M graduate Jorge Quiroga on Monday will become the next president of Bolivia when Hugo Banzer steps down because of ailing health.

Mr. Quiroga, 41, who is vice president of the South American country, will be the first Aggie chief of state, university officials said.

Take that, Longhorns.

He graduated summa cum laude in 1981 with a degree in industrial engineering – and has talked of how A&M inspires him during tough times.

Whether Mr. Quiroga will stock his office with Aggie memorabilia is not known. A spokesman, Jaime Siles, said Wednesday that the president-in-waiting wasn't going to give an interview until after the ceremonies next week.

A&M professor Alberto Garcia-Diaz, who taught Mr. Quiroga in 1979, remembered him as a "truly excellent student, committed to his education."

"And at the same time, I remember he was a man with people skills," he said. "Good personality, very intelligent."

Mr. Quiroga didn't forget his A&M connection when he left Texas to go back to his homeland.

In 1998, he returned as one of the university's commencement speakers.

In that address, he referred to his brother, Mauricio, a 1988 A&M graduate who died in 1997, and his country. Another brother, Luis, is a 1989 A&M graduate who majored in industrial engineering.

"When I am climbing and I feel my legs weary and my will weakening, I do two things: I look back at my roots to regain strength and I look up to my Aggie in the sky for inspiration," Mr. Quiroga said.

"So, when the climbing gets difficult and you feel ready to give up, I suggest you do the same."

Mr. Quiroga, whose nickname is Tuto, later earned a business degree from St. Edward's University in Austin. He is married to Texan Virginia Guillum, and they have four children.

He worked as a computer engineer in Austin for several years. In 1992, he was named Bolivia's minister of finance. Five years later, he was elected Bolivia's youngest vice president at the age of 37.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001


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