Thelma Aldana

Aldana was born in Gualán, eastern Guatemala, in 1955. She graduated from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala. She has a Master's degree in Civil and Procedural Law.[1] In 2009, she became a judge in the Supreme Court. She served as the president of the Supreme Court from 2011-2012. In 2014 she replaced the highly effective Claudia Paz y Paz as Guatemala’s attorney general. She is married.[2]

In 2019, Aldana entered the presidential election, campaigning on the platform of anti-corruption with new party Semilla. However, on 15 May, the Constitutional Court rejected her candidacy for President, since she had been charged with corruption, despite no evidence being presented. It's believed that the charges were presented to stop her candidacy and an eventual administration since she was the front-runner.[6]

In 2015 Aldana won the Jaime Brunet Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights from the Public University of Navarra. The prize was for her work for women's rights, against gender violence, and for the rights of the indigenous peoples, as well as against political corruption. The prize was 36,000 euros.[7]

In 2016 she was recognised with an International Women of Courage Award by the US Secretary of State.[8]

In 2018 she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award along with Iván Velásquez Gómez for "their innovative work [with CICIG] in exposing abuse of power and prosecuting corruption, thus rebuilding people’s trust in public institutions."[9]