President of Guatemala
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The President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1851, when that title was assumed by José Rafael Carrera, who had been acting as head of government as general and Caudillo since 1840. Earlier, Guatemala had been a state within the United Provinces of Central America since 1823, before that part of the Mexican Empire under Agustín de Iturbide, and before 1821 ruled by the Captain General of Guatemala, a Spanish colonial official owing allegence to the Viceroy of New Spain and the King of Spain, back to the Spanish conquest of the region in the early 16th century.
The title of "President of Guatemala" has been used by democratically elected leaders, appointed heads of state, and leaders who took power by military coup.
List of Presidents of Guatemala
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(From 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945 Guatemala was governed by a military Junta consisting of Francisco Javier Arana, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, and Jorge Toriello Garrido.)
| Juan José Arévalo Bermejo | 15 March 1945 - 15 March 1951 |
| Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán | 15 March 1951 - 27 June 1954 |
| Carlos Enrique Díaz de León | 27 June 1954 - 28 June 1954 |
(From 29 June 1954 to 8 July 1954 Guatemala was run by a Junta headed by General Elfego Hernán Monzón Aguirre; from then until 26 July 1957 by a Junta headed by Carlos Castillo Armas)
| Luis Arturo González López | 27 July 1957 - 24 October 1957 |
(From 24 October 1957 to 26 October 1957 Guatemala was ruled by a military Junta headed by Óscar Mendoza Azurdia.)
In the presidential election of 9 November 2003, no candidate succeeded in securing a majority of votes; top vote getters Óscar Berger and Álvaro Colom faced each other in a run-off election on 28 December, with Berger winning 54% of the vote. See: Guatemala election, 2003.