Red Badge Of Courage

Fujimori launched one of the world's most successful economic reforms after he won the 1990 elections at the head of a movement to clean up Peruvian public life, which swept aside traditional parties, leaving the slate clean for Fujimori to revive the economy. He was hailed for combining pragmatic reforms with a strong net of support for the poor.

The son of Japanese immigrants, Fujimori became rector of a leading university at 44, after a brilliant academic career. The agriculturist trained in France and the US later switched to science and mathematics. As president of the heads of Peru's universities, he anchored a popular TV show on national issues before launching the quasi-political movement that propelled him to presidency.