Peru appoints José Palacios as new Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense

Peru’s Ministry of Defense has accepted the resignation of José Luis Vigil León as secretary general of the ministry and appointed José Antonio Palacios Vera in his place.

Vigil León has served for 33 days in this critical post, equivalent to that of an administrator of the Ministry of Defense.

Vigil León was appointed Secretary General to fill the vacant post after Javier Erasmo Carmelo Ramos resigned.

A few days into his one-month term and a new defense minister in Daniel Barragán, the ministry appointed a new secretary general.

The turnover of high-level personnel in the Ministry of Defense is increasingly approaching that of Peru’s Interior Ministry, where resignations and appointments occur almost weekly.

Palacios holds a doctorate in education from the National Pedagogical University of Enrique Guzmán y Valle.

He holds a master’s degree in public administration and management from the Center for Advanced National Studies (CAEN), a degree in aerospace administration from the Peruvian Air Force Officer School, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Lima.

According to the Ministry of Defense, between September 2020 and January 2022, Palacios served as administrative and financial director of the municipality of Santiago de Surco, a district of Lima.

He worked in the General Secretariat of the Armed Forces Procurement Agency (Acffaa) and managed various administrative areas of the Peruvian Air Force.

According to his sworn declaration of interest, Palacios will serve as the general manager of the Zarmex company from January 2019 until the date of the sworn statement, which is sometime this year.

Palacios and his spouse own 25% of the company.