José Mujica

José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (20 May 1935 – 13 May 2025) was a Uruguayan politician, revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and imprisoned for 14 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. A member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was the minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as president on 1 March 2010.

Mujica's administration implemented a range of progressive policies, including the decriminalization of abortion, the legalization of marijuana consumption and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Additional measures strengthened the country's trade unions and significantly bolstered minimum wages.

While in office, Mujica was described as being "the world's poorest president" due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his US$12,000 monthly salary to charities that support low-income individuals and small entrepreneurs. He was an outspoken critic of capitalism and characterised it as having a focus on stockpiling material possessions which do not contribute to human happiness.

Awards: National Order of Merit, Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Sun of Peru, National Order of San Lorenzo, Grand Cross of Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero, Poetry in the Laurel, Order of the Flag of Republika Srpska, Medal of Honor of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, Order of the Liberator General San Martín, Order of the Aztec Eagle, Order of Francisco Morazán Education: Liceo N° 35 Instituto Alfredo Vásquez Acevedo

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mujica