|  Vicente
Fox was born in Mexico City, July 2, 1942.
He is the second of nine children born to farmer José
Luis Fox, now deceased, and Mercedes Quesada.
As a child, together with his family he moved to the
San Cristóbal ranch in the municipality of San
Francisco del Rincón, in the state of Guanajuato,
where he would play with the children of the communal
land owners, share with them their childhood and, in
his own words, "see close up one of the evils that
unnecessarily afflicted our country: poverty".
Vicente Fox is friendly, respectful,
straightforward, and honest. Life on the farm taught
him to value the loyalty of people and appreciate Mexico's
enormous potential to become in every way a successful
nation.
"I know the importance of opportunity –he
says firmly–. I grew up on the land with the children
of peasants and the only thing that sets me apart from
my childhood friends are the opportunities I had and
they did not".
He studied Business Administration at the Mexico City
campus of the Ibero-American University. Looking back,
Vicente Fox remembers how his provincial appearance,
"like a ranchhand", contrasted with that of
his classmates.
He went on to study for a Diploma in Upper Management,
taught by professors from Harvard University Business
School.
In 1964 he joined Coca-Cola de México as a route
supervisor.
From aboard a delivery truck he had the opportunity
to see for himself Mexico's most remote corners. Thanks
to his efforts, he was promoted to President for Mexico
and Latin America, the youngest person in the company
to occupy such a position.
With his accumulated experience, he decided to return
to Guanajuato to participate actively in business, politics,
society, and education, to improve life in his state.
Whether as a businessman or politician, Vicente Fox
Quesada has always done everything he can to improve
the common good and ensure equal opportunities.
A loving father, he has shared the joy of home and
work with his four adopted children: Ana Cristina, Vicente,
Paulina and Rodrigo.
He was the Founding President of the Board of Patrons
of the Amigo Daniel Orphanage, an institution where
many children are cared for and loved; President of
the Loyola Board of Patrons, that promotes the Ibero-American
University in León, and the Lux Institute, a
school where thousands of Guanajuato students have graduated.
He has served as a Board Member of the United States-Mexico
Chamber of Commerce and as a Director of the Grupo Fox,
whose companies –involved in the farming and agribusiness
industries and the manufacture of footwear and cowboy
boots for export– provide many employment opportunities.
He joined the National Action Party (PAN) in the 1980s,
encouraged by the late Manuel J. Clouthier.
In 1988, he was elected Federal Deputy for the Third
District of León, Guanajuato.
While in Congress he paid special attention to agricultural
matters. At that time, he also wrote for several national
and state newspapers.
In 1991 he ran in the election for governor of the
state of Guanajuato. In 1995, he stood again, this time
in the extraordinary elections for governor, and won
by a significant majority.
During his administration, Vicente Fox
always gave clear account both of the state's finances
and his personal assets. He made Guanajuato the fifth
largest economy in Mexico and in light of the excellent
results of his government, was chosen by the Alliance
for Change (PAN-PVEM) as its candidate to the presidency
of Mexico in the elections to be held in the year 2000.
He wrote an autobiographical book called Vicente Fox
a Los Pinos (his path to the presidential residence)
summarizing his political beliefs and immense passion
for Mexico.
July 2, 2000, Vicente Fox won the elections and that
same day promised to "...put together a plural,
honest, and capable government. A government that includes
this country's best citizens".
Later that year, during his December 1 inaugural address,
the President of all Mexicans, Vicente Fox Quesada,
undertook to continue to build a generous country:
"Today, all of us men and women are responsible
for carrying out the mandate of those exemplary elections”,
he said unflinching. “A mandate for change, to
bring in a democratic exercise of power that is within
our grasp, where all of us will live better lives".
A year after his victory in the presidential elections,
July 2, 2001 the official residence of Los Pinos was
the setting for an historic event: the civil marriage
of Vicente Fox Quesada, president of the United Mexican
States, to Mrs. Marta Sahagún Jiménez,
who in this way celebrated three very important events:
the President's 59th birthday, the first anniversary
of democratic change in Mexico, and their wedding.
Today, Mexico is different. And the President of the
Republic works tirelessly to fulfill the commitment
he mentioned in his inaugural address: "I have
and will continue to have an obligation to drive forward
the efforts of this great nation. To work passionately
for those who made Mexico what it is, for those who
built the Mexico we have today, and for those who dreamt
of a different, successful, and triumphant Mexico".
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