Cancer claims life of Peru’s attorney general

Peru’s attorney general, Adelaida Bolívar, passed away in her home today after a two-year fight with uterine cancer, Luis Bromley, head of the Institute for Legal Medicine, told reporters.

Supreme Prosecutor Gladys Echaiz will temporarily assume the attorney general position, which she has held since December when Bolívar requested medical leave. Echaiz will assume the position until November when a new attorney general is elected for a two year term.

Bolívar was born in the city of Jauja, in Junín Department, on Jan. 18, 1944. She earned her law degree from San Marcos National University in 1969.

Bolívar was appointed prosecutor in the province of Lima in 1982 and a year later she was appointed to the judicial district of Ayacucho followed by a move to the judicial district of Loreto. In November 2005, Bolívar assumed the position of attorney general and was unanimously reelected by the Supreme Court of Prosecutors until 2008.