Freddy Ehlers

Freddy Ehlers Zurita (born 30 November 1945) is an Ecuadorian politician. As of June 2013, he is Ecuador's State Secretary for the Presidential Initiative for the Construction of a Society of Good Life. Previously, he was Minister of Tourism from 10 May 2010 until June 2013. In 1996 and 1998, Ehlers stood candidate for the office of President of Ecuador. Between 1 February 2007 and 7 May 2010, Ehlers was the Secretary-General of the Andean Community of Nations [1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ehlers and the second or maternal family name is Zurita.
Freddy Ehlers
Ecuadorian Minister of Tourism, Freddy Ehlers, at the opening of the airroute between Quito and Lima on 26 November 2012.
State Secretary for the Presidential Initiative for the Construction of a Society of Good Life
Assumed office
19 June 2013
PresidentRafael Correa
Minister of Tourism
In office
10 May 2010 – 19 June 2013
PresidentRafael Correa
Preceded byVinicio Alvarado
Succeeded byVinicio Alvarado
Andean Community of Nations Secretary-General
In office
1 February 2007 – 7 May 2010
Preceded byAlfredo Fuentes Hernández
Succeeded byAdalid Contreras Baspineiro
Personal details
Born (1945-11-30) 30 November 1945
Quito, Ecuador
Alma materUniversidad Central del Ecuador

Early life

Freddy Ehlers was born on 30 November 1945 in Quito. Ehlers has a degree in Jurisprudence from the Universidad Central del Ecuador, and has studied Television studies in the Netherlands and the United States.[1]

Professional life

Ehlers has been a journalist for thirty years in which he has produced over a thousand documentaries. In 1979 he started the series Let's talk about ourselves, which was the first program to show the cultural and natural values of the Andes.[2] Between 1980 and 1988 he was director of the Program of Andean Television. In 1990 he began with the production of the series La Televisión, which emphasized environmental issues. It has been the most successful show by audience measurement in the journalism and opinion category in Ecuador between 1990 and 2006.[3]

Political career

In the 1996 elections and 1998 elections Ehlers was a candidate for the Ecuadorian presidency but both times did not win the election. On 20 October 2002, Ehlers was elected as a member of the Andean Parliament for Ecuador with 20% of the votes as a representative of the Movimiento Cívico Nuevo País. During his term, which ended in 2006, he became vice president of the same parliament.[3] On 18 January 2007, Ehlers was chosen as Secretary-General of the Andean Community of Nations for a five-year term. Ehlers succeeded the Colombian Alfredo Fuentes Hernández, an interim Secretary-General.[4] Ehlers formally started his function on 1 February 2007.[5] His term of office was noted by his efforts to implement the mandate handed down to him by the Tarija summit of 2007. On 20 April 2010, he submitted his resignation, which became effective on 7 May 2010. He resigned to return to Ecuadorian politics.[6] On 10 May 2010, he was named Minister of Tourism by President Rafael Correa.

On 19 June 2013, his term as Minister of Tourism ended and he was named State Secretary for the Presidential Initiative for the Construction of a Society of Good Life.[7] In his new capacity he started the television series Acuerdo para el buen vivir on 15 October 2014. The program was meant to start a dialogue on how to reach a society of good life.[8] Ehlers has also promoted the vision of his secretariat worldwide.[9]

In July 2015, opposition politicians sought to have Ehler's secretariat closed, with Andrés Páez calling it "a symbol of obese bureaucracy".[10] In April 2016, Ehlers stated that the budget and staff of his secretariat had decreased.[11]

Decorations

Ehlers received the Global 500 Roll of Honour by the UNEP in 1993 for his work in raising awareness amongst Ecuadorians for the environment.[2]

References
  1. (in Spanish) "Curriculum Vitae", Ministry of Tourism, Ecuador
  2. Freddy Ehlers Archived 2013-07-04 at Archive.today Global 500 Environmental Forum
  3. (in Spanish) Minister "Ministro" Ministry of Tourism, Ecuador
  4. Ecuadorian Freddy Ehlers is elected CAN Secretary General Archived July 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Andean Community of Nations, 18 January 2007
  5. Chronological sequence of events Archived 2013-03-17 at the Wayback Machine Andean Community of Nations
  6. Freddy Ehlers resigns from the CAN General Secretariat Archived 2013-05-10 at the Wayback Machine Andean Community of Nations, 20 April 2010
  7. "Cargo nuevo a don Freddy" (in Spanish). Últimas Noticias. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  8. "Freddy Ehlers estrena nuevo programa de TV". El Comercio (in Spanish). 16 October 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  9. "Ecuador wants to show Europe the way to happiness". France 24. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  10. Jim Wyss (17 July 2015). "Happy by decree: Ecuador's chief of 'good living' tries to raise national contentment". Miami Herald. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  11. "Freddy Ehlers: Se ha reducido el personal de la Secretaría del Buen Vivir conscientes de la situación". El Comercio (in Spanish). 15 April 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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