US embassy cable - 05LIMA3548

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 003548 
 
SIPDIS 
 
ASUNCION PLEASE PASS TO SECDEF 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PREL, MARR, PE 
SUBJECT: NEW PRIME MINISTER, FOREIGN MINISTER AND DEFENSE 
MINISTER TO RECEIVE SECDEF IN LIMA 
 
REF: A. LIMA 3489 
 
     B. LIMA 3476 
 
Classified By: Polcouns Alexander Margulies.  Reason: 1.4(b/d). 
 
1. (C) New Prime Minister-designate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski 
(PPK) phoned the Ambassador on the morning of 8/16 to confirm 
press reports that he would be sworn-in later that day as 
Prime Minister.  The Ambassador inquired as to other Cabinet 
changes that might affect upcoming meetings with SECDEF.  PPK 
said that that Marciano Rengifo, a retired Army Lieutenant 
General and currently a governing Peru Posible party 
Congressman, will be named Minister of Defense.  He added 
that Oscar Maurtua, formerly Vice Minister of Foreign 
Relations, will be the new Foreign Minister.  All were indeed 
sworn in by President Alejandro Toledo that afternoon.  Bios 
for PPK, Rengifo, and Maurtua follow.  Embassy will report 
Septel on full Cabinet changes. 
 
2. (C)  PRIME MINISTER:  Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard 
(commonly called "PPK") was born in Lima on 3 October 1938. 
He received his B.A. and M.A. in philosophy, politics, and 
economics from Exeter College, Oxford University, and holds 
an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and 
International Affairs, Princeton University.  PPK served as 
Deputy Governor of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru in the 
1960s, and as president of a mining company in the 1970s. He 
served as Minister of Energy and Mines from 1980-1982, and 
from 1982-1992 was managing director of the investment 
banking firm First Boston Corporation and chairman of First 
Boston International.  Between 1992-2001, he managed a series 
of U.S.-based investment funds, and served on several 
multinational, U.S., and Peruvian corporate boards. When 
President Toledo selected Kuczynski for Minister of Economy 
and Finance in July 2001, he was president and CEO of the 
Latin American Enterprise Fund.  Kuczynski remained Minister 
of Economy and Finance until July 2002, when he was replaced 
in a general Cabinet shakeup.  PPK returned to the Finance 
Ministry in February 2004 and remained in that position to 
the present.  He has remained politically independent for 
most of his career.  PPK,s strength lies in his management 
of the economy, which has grown every month since Toledo took 
office.  The Embassy has excellent relations with PPK, who is 
sympathetic to USG objectives and policies in Peru and the 
region.  Kuczynski is married to a U.S. citizen. He has four 
children, one of whom is a reporter for the New York Times. 
He speaks excellent English. 
 
3.  (C)  DEFENSE MINISTER:  Marciano RENGIFO Ruiz is a 
70-year old retired Army Lieutenant General and currently a 
governing Peru Posible party Congressman representing the 
Department of San Martin.  Born in Bellavista, San Martin, he 
received his primary military training in Peru and France. He 
also trained in the former Soviet Union during the Velasco 
government. He served as a military attach to Argentina from 
1979-1980.  Rengifo is one of the founding members of the 
Peru Posible party and was elected to Congress in 2000.  He 
was President of the Defense and Intelligence Committee for 
two sessions, 2000-2002.  From 2003-2004 he was first Vice 
President of Congress.  In prior press interviews he 
identified narcotrafficking and terrorism as the biggest 
threats to Peru, the region, and the world.  He is married 
with four children.  Post has worked well with Rengifo on 
congressional issues.  He is solid on the important issues of 
military reform, professionalization of the military, and 
civilian control over the military. 
 
4.  (C)  FOREIGN MINISTER:  Ambassador Oscar MAURTUA de 
Romana formerly served as Vice Minister of Foreign Relations. 
He graduated from the Universidad Catolica and San Marcos 
with post-graduate studies at Oxford and Johns Hopkins all in 
international affairs.   He is a lawyer and career diplomat, 
having entered Peru's diplomatic service in 1969.   Maurtua 
served as Ambassador to Canada (1985-1988), Bolivia 
(1988-1993), Thailand (1995-1999), and Ecuador (1999-2002). 
Domestic positions include Under Secretary for Political 
Affairs, Secretary General to the President (1980-1985), 
Director General of Planning, Director General of Judiciary 
Affairs, and  Judiciary Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs.  He is married with three children.  Maurtua has 
been an excellent and accessible Embassy contact in the 
Foreign Ministry.  He is quite amiable, but generally prefers 
to focus on generalities and platitudes in lieu of detailed 
substantive discussion of issues.  We expect that his 
appointment will result in continuity in the foreign policies 
practiced by Peru under outgoing Foreign Minister Manuel 
Rodriguez. 
STRUBLE