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Leopoldo Eduardo López Mendoza (born 29 April 1971) is a political prisoner and former Venezuelan politician, having served as National Coordinator of Venezuelan political party Voluntad Popular, which he founded in 2009, before his imprisonment. Born in Caracas, he received a degree in Sociology and Economics from Kenyon College, and later Master of Public Policy from Harvard University. Lopez ventured into politics in 2000 when he co-founded the political party Primero Justicia alongside Henrique Capriles Radonski and Julio Borges, and ran successfully for the mayorship of the Chacao Municipality in the regional elections held in July 2000. Lopez has received multiple awards for his transparency and support of democracy.〔〔 〕〔〔〔〔 In 2004, Lopez was disqualified from holding public office for 6 years (beginning in 2008, at the completion of his term as mayor), as a result of administrative sanctions imposed by Venezuela's Comptroller's Office following an investigation into two corruption scandals involving alleged nepotism and misappropriation of funds, which were criticized as fabricated charges.〔 〕 Lopez was never charged with a crime, tried, or allowed to rebut the allegations; Lopez sued Venezuela and his case was reviewed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which issued a unanimous ruling in his favor, though the verdict was ignored by Venezuelan officials due to the lack of judicial independence in Venezuela.〔 〕〔 Also available from (Yahoo news )〕 López, who called for peaceful protests in 2014, was arrested on 18 February 2014 on charges of murder and terrorism, which were later changed to lesser charges of "instigating arson, damage and criminal gatherings". Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and numerous former presidents have called for his immediate release and protested the nature of the charges against Lopez.〔 Since his arrest, López has become the most popular politician in Venezuela, with an approval rating near 50% compared to President Maduro's rating below 30%. On Thursday September 10, 2015, he was found guilty of public incitement to violence, criminal association and was accused by the Venezuelan government of attempting a coup through subliminal messages, with López being sentenced to 13 years and 9 months in prison. In the roughly 700 hundred hours of court testimonies, the defense was given less than three hours and was not allotted adequate resources or due process. Following his sentencing, Amnesty International declared López a prisoner of conscience. The United Nations and several other groups have urged Venezuela to release Lopez from his politically motivated incarceration.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://amnistiaonline.org/Venezuela/Leopoldo_Lopez/ )〕 ==Early life and education== López was born in Caracas on 29 April 1971, into a prominent family.〔 He has two sisters, Diana and Adriana López. ''The Guardian'' noted that López is descended from several Venezuelan figures from history, including a former president.〔Jonathan Watts. (Venezuelan opposition leader, Leopoldo López, tells his allies to keep fighting ). ''The Guardian.'' 21 February 2014. Retrieved: 15 March 2014.〕 López' mother, Antonieta Mendoza, is the daughter of Eduardo Mendoza Goiticoa, who was Secretary of Agriculture for two years during the Rómulo Betancourt years that lasted from 1945 to 1948. Through her, López is the great-great-great-grandson of the country's first president, Cristóbal Mendoza. López is also the great-great-grand nephew of Simón Bolívar. Bolivar's sister, Juana Bolivar, is López's great-great-great-great-grandmother, making him one of Bolívar's few living relatives. His great-uncle Rafael Ernesto López Ortega was Minister of Education during the presidency of López Contreras. His grandfather Leopoldo López Ortega and great-uncle Rafael Ernesto López Ortega were both doctors, founders of the Centro Medico of San Bernardino in Caracas.〔http://www.citymayors.com/mayors/chacao-mayor.html〕 He studied at the Colegio Santiago de León de Caracas and graduated from the Hun School of Princeton.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.hunschool.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=23861&ModuleID=26 )〕 He graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in 1993, where he received a degree in Economics and Sociology. He subsequently attended Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government where he obtained a Master of Public Policy in 1996.〔 〕 In 2007, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Kenyon. In May 2007 he married Lilian Tintori,〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Leopoldo Lopez’ Wife Lilian Tintori )〕 with whom he had a daughter in 2009 followed by a son in 2013.〔 ''El Universal'', 20 September 2009, (Leopoldo López presenta a su hija Manuela por twitter )〕 A high-school friend of López’s, HLN anchor Susan Hendricks, described him as having a winning personality during his student years. A college friend, Rob Gluck, said in 2014 that during their student days López had founded a student group called Active Students Helping the Earth Survive. Responding to government characterizations of López, Gluck said: “Calling Leo rightwing is like calling Maya Angelou a racist. It is bizarre. It is the ultimate Orwellian exercise in doublespeak.” In 1989, López told the student newspaper at the Hun School, ''The Mall'', that “Being away from home created an awakening of the responsibility I have towards the people of my country. I belong to one percent of the privileged people, and achieving a good education will hopefully enable me to do something to help my country.” A fellow student described him as being “very good at getting people psyched” on the swimming and crew teams, and added: “I am sure these qualities will help him lead Venezuela out of the third world some day.” The article noted that López, after graduating from Kenyon, hoped to attend graduate school, and then return to his country “where he hopes to go into politics and improve Venezuela.”〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Leopoldo López」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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