Roberto Micheletti Baín (born 13 August 1943) is a Honduran politician who served as the interim and 36th president of Honduras from 28 June 2009, to 27 January 2010, as a result of the 2009 Honduran coup d'état.
The Honduran military ousted the President, and the National Congress read a letter of resignation, which was refuted two minutes later by Manuel Zelaya in conversation with CNN en Español; days later, the coup-plotters claimed that the Supreme Court had ordered to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya because "he was violating the Honduran constitution"; Zelaya was exiled rather than arrested. Micheletti, constitutionally next in line for the presidency, was sworn in as president by the National Congress a few hours after Zelaya was sent into exile by the Honduran military. He was not acknowledged as de jure president by any government or international organization. The 2009 general election took place as planned in November and elected Porfirio Lobo Sosa to succeed Micheletti.
Before serving as president, Micheletti was the president of Honduras' National Congress. A deputy in Congress since 1982, Micheletti is currently a member of the Liberal Party of Honduras.
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Family background
Born in El Progreso, Yoro Department, Micheletti was the eighth of nine siblings (6 boys, 3 girls).
Micheletti's father was Umberto Micheletti, who immigrated from the Bergamo province of Lombardy, Italy. His mother was Donatella Bain Moya, also born in El Progreso.
He is married to Siomara Girón and they have three children.
Political career
In 1963, Micheletti was a member of the honor guard of President Ramón Villeda, who was toppled by the military; Micheletti was arrested and jailed on 3 October and jailed for 27 days. In 1973 he moved to the United States, living in Tampa, Florida, then in New Orleans, Louisiana, for two years before returning to Honduras in 1976. While living in the US he finished high school and started his own business.
Deputy
Micheletti won a Congressional seat in 1982 which he has held till June 2009, except for a brief period when he ran Hondutel, Honduras' state-owned national telephone company.
In 1985 Micheletti was part of a group of deputies who signed a motion calling for the National Congress to reseat itself as a National Constituent Assembly. A Venezuelan government webpage claims that the proposal was aimed at enabling then-President Roberto Suazo to run for re-election in the 1985 Honduras presidential election. Ultimately the proposal was dropped when most congressmen refused to support the motion.
He has twice sought his party's nomination to run for president, both times failing to win the internal election for the nomination of his party, the latter occasion in 2008 to former Vice President Elvin Santos, who won the Liberal nomination for the November 2009 presidential election.
President of the National Congress
Micheletti presided over the National Congress of Honduras from 25 January 2006 until 28 June 2009. Although he was a member of the same party as Manuel Zelaya, there had been conflict between the two politicians before the constitutional crisis.
Interim Presidency (2009–2010)
The Ministerio Publico's office charged Manuel Zelaya with violations of the constitution, laws and court orders. The Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant. On the morning of Sunday, June 28, 2009, the military arrested President Zelaya and deported him to Costa Rica.
After a resignation letter from President Manuel Zelaya was read to the National Congress of Honduras, which Zelaya later denied writing, Zelaya was dismissed as president, by a show of hands in the National Congress, on 28 June. Congress, under Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 205, 220, subsections 20, 218, 242, 321, 322 and 323 of the Constitution of the Republic, unanimously agreed to:
disapprove Zelaya's repeated violations of the constitution, laws and court orders,
remove Zelaya from the post, and,
name the current President of Congress Roberto Micheletti to complete the constitutional term ending January 27, 2010.
The Honduran constitution mandated that the head of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, act as the provisional head of state since Vice President Elvin Ernesto Santos had resigned in December 2008 to run for president.
Micheletti's term in office saw demonstrations for and against him, although the demonstrations for him encountered none of the violent repression from the police.
Domestically his government was supported by organizations such as Unión Cívica Democrática and opposed by the "Resistance".
International support for the Micheletti government was scant. Official reactions from many international leaders condemned the ousting of President Zelaya, many of them calling for his reinstatement.
The Organization of American States (OAS) said it would not recognize any government other than that of Manuel Zelaya.
Legislator for life
In January 2010 the Honduran Congress granted Micheletti the status of "legislator for life". The appointment did not make him immune from prosecution, as some international media sources stated.
Attack on his daughter
On 5 November 2013 a daughter of Micheletti was shot at, but not seriously injured, while driving with her chauffeur and armed guards.