Tabaré Vázquez was a former President of the Republic of Uruguay. He served for two terms from 2005-2010 and from 2015-2020.
Tabaré Vázquez was Mayor of Montevideo (1990-1994) and President of the political party Frente Amplio (1996-2006) before his two presidential terms. Throughout his tenure as President of the Republic, President Vázquez strongly advocated for better public health policies and especially for innovative policies against tobacco use, leading tobacco control efforts in the region. He garnered wide and international support and recognition for his achievements in this area, such as the Champions Award of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the Public Health Hero Award of the Pan American Health Organisation, the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award for No Tobacco Day, and the recognition of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Moreover, 11 universities from different countries across the globe awarded Mr. Vázquez an honorary doctorate. President Vázquez also gained recognition from the UNDP and other international organisations for the success of Plan Ceibal, a set of policies developed and implemented during his presidential tenure aimed at promoting inclusive digitalisation and reducing the digital gap in the education system. Vázquez was also dedicated to pursuing his professional career in medicine, which led him to be appointed Head of Radiotherapy Service at the Uruguay National Institute of Oncology, member of the Honour Roll of the International Union Against Cancer, and Professor at the University of the Republic.
President Vázquez continued to have an active voice on international affairs and global public health issues, specifically on noncommunicable diseases, which are his field of expertise. Since 2010 he was a member of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Regional Advisory Group. And since 2018, he served as Co-Chair of the WHO Independent Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases.
