Fujimori Flies to the UN and Leaves Her Premier in Charge of Peru

Peru’s constitution decides who governs when a president travels abroad, a rule that matters again under a new government. Keiko Fujimori leaves for the United Nations on 21 September, and her prime minister will run the country.

On 19 September, Peru formally entrusted its presidential office to Premier Luis Galarreta, also first vice-president, for Keiko Fujimori’s UN trip. Defence Minister Rafael Belaunde will run the Council of Ministers, Peru’s cabinet office, from 21 to 25 September.

Why This Matters

Article 115 of Peru’s 1993 constitution puts the first vice-president in charge of the presidential office when the president leaves the country. Luis Galarreta holds that post and also serves as prime minister, head of the Council of Ministers, known as the PCM.

Because he cannot run both offices at once, the government handed the PCM to Defence Minister Rafael Belaunde for the trip. Second Vice-President Miguel Torres, who now presides over the Senate, would step in only if Galarreta could not.

The rule could not apply under former president Dina Boluarte, who had no vice-president. In June 2023, Congress approved in a first vote a reform letting her govern remotely from abroad, Swissinfo reported.

Who holds power during a trip matters in Peru because the presidency has changed hands unusually often. Congress removed Boluarte on 10 October 2025 by 122 votes, citing “permanent moral incapacity”, Wikipedia records.

Her successor, José Jerí, lasted until 17 February 2026, when Congress censured him and José María Balcázar was sworn in. A president with an elected vice-president in the cabinet is therefore a change from the interim governments of recent years.

Who Keiko Fujimori Is

Keiko Fujimori, leader of the right-wing Popular Force party, took office on 28 July 2026. She won the 7 June runoff against Roberto Sánchez with 50.13 percent, a margin of about 49,641 votes, according to Wikipedia.

It was her fourth presidential run, after narrow defeats in 2011, 2016 and 2021. She is the daughter of Alberto Fujimori, who governed from 1990 to 2000 and died in September 2024.

He had been sentenced in 2009 to 25 years for human rights abuses and was released in December 2023. A money-laundering case against her, known as the Cocktails case, was annulled in October 2025 and dismissed in January 2026.

What the Resolution Says

Supreme Resolution 277-2026-PCM appeared in El Peruano, the official gazette, on 19 September, state news agency Andina reported. It entrusts Galarreta with the presidency and Belaunde with the PCM for as long as the absences last.

Legislative Resolution 32741 authorised Fujimori’s trip to New York for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. The Senate approved the trip with 34 votes in favour, two against and three abstentions, Infobae/EFE reported.

Infobae reported that she will address the General Debate on 22 September and hold bilateral meetings. Gestión said her agenda includes talks with CAF, the Latin American development bank, and other entities.

Foreign Minister Carlos Espá and Foreign Trade Minister Rogers Valencia will travel with her, according to Infobae. Gestión also listed planned meetings with Finland’s president and Thailand’s prime minister.

It is her first official trip abroad as president, about 45 days after taking office, Infobae reported on 11 September. Infobae’s published programme includes a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on 23 September.

The same programme lists a regional meeting on transnational organised crime, led by Chile, that day. On 24 September, she is scheduled to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, according to Infobae.

Who Luis Galarreta Is

Galarreta, born in Lima in 1971, served three terms in Congress between 2006 and 2021. He was president of Congress in 2017 and 2018, and he joined Popular Force in 2016, Spanish-language Wikipedia records.

He was already Fujimori‘s first vice-presidential candidate in the 2021 election, which she lost to Castillo. His double role as premier and first vice-president is why the cabinet itself needed a stand-in leader.

Why Presidential Trips Are Political in Peru

Peru’s president needs congressional permission for every trip abroad, which gives lawmakers leverage over foreign policy. Congress used that power against leftist president Pedro Castillo, whom it barred from travelling to Colombia in August 2022.

It later denied him trips to the Vatican, to an Asia-Pacific summit in Thailand and to a Pacific Alliance meeting in Mexico. Fujimori’s party was a leading force in that Congress, which regularly clashed with Castillo’s government.

Congress removed Castillo in December 2022 after he tried to dissolve it, and Boluarte took over. Fujimori’s own trip passed the Senate by 34 votes to two, a sharp contrast with the stand-offs of 2022.

A First Cabinet Exit

The handover follows the first departure from Fujimori’s cabinet, less than two months after she took office on 28 July. Transport and Communications Minister Rafael Rey resigned on 18 September, citing health reasons, La República reported.

Deputy Víctor Piñán asked whether a dispute over recycled trains played a role, the newspaper added. Economist José Tangherlini Casal was sworn in as his replacement that evening.

Rey had served about 52 days, and Tangherlini is a former deputy agriculture minister, The Rio Times reported. The quick appointment kept the ministry filled before the president’s departure for New York.

The Rio Times covered Rey’s resignation and Fujimori’s falling approval ratings in an earlier report. On its own, one exit after two months points to early strain rather than a broader cabinet crisis.

Pollster Datum put her approval at 42 percent in mid-September, down from 60 percent in August, The Rio Times reported. Ipsos also measured 42 percent, while the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP) found 37 percent in early September.

What It Means If You Follow Peru

For investors, the trip is the government’s first chance to pitch Peru directly to Wall Street and multilateral lenders. Day-to-day decisions stay with Galarreta, one of Fujimori’s closest allies in Popular Force.

For citizens, little changes in practice, because ministries keep running and the handover lasts only five days. For foreign governments, the bilateral meetings will show what priorities Fujimori sets abroad in her first months.

For expats and visitors, nothing changes in consular or border services, since the handover concerns only the head of state. Anyone tracking political risk should watch whether further ministers leave once the president returns on 25 September.

What Is Not Yet Known

Published reports do not say which decisions Galarreta plans to take during the five days. It is also unclear whether Fujimori will meet US government officials while in New York.

The government has not said whether further cabinet changes are planned. Nor has it answered Piñán’s question about the train dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: Andina, government entrusts presidential office to Galarreta, Gestión, Galarreta to assume presidency during UN trip, Gestión, trip made official and planned meetings, Infobae/EFE, cabinet chief in charge during New York trip, Infobae, Fujimori’s first trip and New York agenda, La República, Tangherlini sworn in to replace Rey, The Rio Times, approval ratings and Rey’s exit, LP Derecho, Article 115 of the constitution, Swissinfo, 2023 vote on remote presidential dispatch, Wikipedia, Keiko Fujimori, Wikipedia, Dina Boluarte, Wikipedia, José Jerí, Wikipedia, Pedro Castillo, Wikipedia (Spanish), Luis Galarreta