Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro spent more than a decade working as an appointee in Honduran politics and government. But it was the murder of his son in 1997 that convinced him to run for public office himself.
In his campaign for the Honduran presidency, Maduro, '67, is pushing for reform of the nation's education programs and advocating greater independence for the nation's judiciary. He also wants to help put an end to the kind of lawlessness that led to the death of his 24-year-old son at the hands of kidnappers.
The candidate's first test will come in the November 2000 primary, where he will seek nomination by the Partido Nacional. A recent Gallup poll found that 70 percent of his party's voters support him. "It would be good if the election were tomorrow," he jokes in an interview from Tegucigalpa.
A former economics major, Maduro credits Stanford with fostering the qualities needed to lead the country of 5.1 million. "It strengthened my sense of social responsibility and taught me how to think and analyze," he says.
