The President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1851, when that title was assumed by José Rafael Carrera, who had been acting as head of government as general and Caudillo since 1840. Earlier, Guatemala had been a state within the United Provinces of Central America since 1823, before that part of the Mexican Empire under Agustín de Iturbide, and before 1821 ruled by the Captain General of Guatemala, a Spanish colonial official owing allegence to the Viceroy of New Spain and the King of Spain, back to the Spanish conquest of the region in the early 16th century.

The title of "President of Guatemala" has been used by democratically elected leaders, appointed heads of state, and leaders who took power by military coup.

List of Presidents of Guatemala

José Rafael Carrera Turcios	6 November 1851 - 14 April 1865
Pedro de Aycinena y Piñol	14 April 1865 - 24 May 1865
Vicente Cerna Sandoval	24 May 1865 - 29 June, 1871
Miguel García Granados Zavala	29 June 1871 - 4 June 1873
Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón	4 June 1873 - 2 April 1885
Alejandro M. Sinibaldi	2 April 1885 - 5 April 1885
Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián	6 April 1885 - 15 March 1892
José María Reina Barrios	15 March 1892 - 8 February 1898
Manuel José Estrada Cabrera	8 February 1898 - 15 April 1920
Carlos Herrera y Luna	15 April 1920 - 10 December 1921
José María Orellana Pinto	10 December 1921 - 26 September 1926
Lázaro Chacón González	26 September 1926 - 2 January 1931
José María Reina Andrade	2 January 1931 - 14 February 1931
Jorge Ubico y Castañeda	14 February 1931 - 4 July 1944
Juan Federico Ponce Vaides	4 July 1944 - 20 October 1944

(From 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945 Guatemala was governed by a military Junta consisting of Francisco Javier Arana, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, and Jorge Toriello Garrido.)

Juan José Arévalo Bermejo	15 March 1945 - 15 March 1951
Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán	15 March 1951 - 27 June 1954
Carlos Enrique Díaz de León	27 June 1954 - 28 June 1954

(From 29 June 1954 to 8 July 1954 Guatemala was run by a Junta headed by General Elfego Hernán Monzón Aguirre; from then until 26 July 1957 by a Junta headed by Carlos Castillo Armas)

Luis Arturo González López

27 July 1957 - 24 October 1957

(From 24 October 1957 to 26 October 1957 Guatemala was ruled by a military Junta headed by Óscar Mendoza Azurdia.)

Guillermo Flores Avendaño	27 October 1957 - 2 March 1958
José Miguel Ramón Ydígoras Fuentes	2 March 1958 - 31 March 1963
Alfredo Enrique Peralta Azurdia	31 March 1963 - 1 July 1966
Julio César Méndez Montenegro	1 July 1966 - 1 July 1970
Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio	1 July 1970 - 1 July 1974
Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García	1 July 1974 - 1 July 1978
Fernando Romeo Lucas García	1 July 1978 - 23 March 1982
José Efraín Ríos Montt	23 March 1982 - 8 August 1983
Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores	8 August 1983 - 14 January 1986
Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo	14 January 1986 - 14 January 1991
Jorge Antonio Serrano Elías	14 January 1991 - 31 May 1993
Gustavo Adolfo Espina Salguero	1 June 1993 - 5 June 1993
Ramiro de León Carpio	6 June 1993 - 14 January 1996
Álvaro Enrique Arzú Irigoyen	14 January 1996 - 14 January 2000
Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera	14 January 2000 - 14 January 2004
Óscar Berger Perdomo	14 January 2004 (incumbent)

In the presidential election of 9 November 2003, no candidate succeeded in securing a majority of votes; top vote getters Óscar Berger and Álvaro Colom faced each other in a run-off election on 28 December, with Berger winning 54% of the vote. See: Guatemala election, 2003.

See also: History of Guatemala