Reuters AlertNet Lite - FACTBOX-Five facts about Mexican President Felipe Calderon

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FACTBOX-Five facts about Mexican President Felipe Calderon

01 Dec 2006 17:29:16 GMT
Source: Reuters

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Following are five facts about Mexican conservative Felipe Calderon, 44, who was sworn in as president on Friday despite fierce protests from leftists who claim fraud in July's election.

* Calderon got an early start in politics as a child by handing out flyers and helping paint slogans on walls for the National Action Party, or PAN, which his father helped form. He later headed PAN's youth movement, was its national president and led the party's bloc in Congress. He even met his wife at a PAN gathering.

* Following a stint as director of a state-owned development bank, Calderon was energy minister under former president Vicente Fox. He quit nine months later, in May 2004, after a dispute with Fox over his presidential ambitions.

* Calderon told the MTV music channel he regretted not having more fun as a child, saying he was made to dress formally rather than be allowed to run around barefoot like other children. However, he did learn to play the guitar and harmonica in high school.

* After beating Fox's favorite, Santiago Creel, in the PAN primaries to become its presidential candidate, Calderon dubbed himself "The Disobedient Son," even sticking the nickname on the front of his campaign bus.

* A devout Catholic and the youngest of five siblings, Calderon is a family man who took breaks from election campaigning to spend time with his wife and three children.

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Last updated:Fri Dec 1 17:31:46 2006