Peruvian president picks former tanner as new prime minister
06/03/2014
Originally from Arequipa, in the south of the country, Mr Cornejo’s family ran a tannery in the Cercado area of the city. Before the age of 20, he had branched out and, with his brother, Ronald, set up a tannery of their own, Hermanos Cornejo Díaz, in the Cerro Colorado area of Arequipa, which operated until 2006.
Long before then, the new prime minister had moved to Lima, completed university studies in electrical engineering and mathematics and entered politics. While in Lima, though, fellow students have said they recall that René Cornejo often took time to buy raw materials and send them back to Arequipa for his family to use in leather production.
Observers believe he will come under pressure to continue a process of decentralising budgets and power to the regions of Peru.
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