Jorge Nieto

Jorge Nieto Montesinos (born 29 October 1951) is a Peruvian sociologist and politician. He served in Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's administration first as Minister of Culture and second as Minister of Defense.

Nieto is currently a presidential candidate in the 2026 general election, having founded the Party of Good Government in 2023 in order to run in the election.

Early life and education

Nieto was born in the city of Arequipa on 29 October 1951, the son of Walter Nieto Miranda and Carmen Montesinos Hartley. He is the nephew of the politician Alfonso Montesinos y Montesinos, of poet Adela Montesinos y Montesinos, and of former intelligence advisor and agent Vladimiro Montesinos, who is currently imprisoned following convictions for acts of corruption during the government of Alberto Fujimori.

Due to his family’s frequent relocations, as his father, a military officer, was assigned to different regions of the country, Nieto completed his primary and secondary education in various public schools. He completed all five years of secondary school at the Colegio Nacional de la Independencia Americana in Arequipa.

Between 1974 and 1978, Nieto enrolled in the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, where he studied law and completed studies in sociology, graduating with a bachelor’s degree. He holds a master’s degree in political science from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) (1982–1984) and pursued doctoral studies in Social Sciences at The College of Mexico between 1988 and 1991.

Political career

During his years as a university student, Nieto was affiliated to the Revolutionary Communist Party – Red Trench, which formed part of the broader Popular Democratic Unity front that participated in the 1980 general election, in which Nieto ran unsuccessfully for the lower house representing Callao after quitting the race due to the alleged division among Peruvian left-wing parties at the time.

Presidency of Pedro Pablo Kuzcynski

Minister of Culture (2016)

On 15 July 2016, President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski announced Nieto's appointment as minister of Culture. He was formally sworn in on 28 July of the same year, during the inauguration ceremony held in the Government Palace.

During his short tenure at the ministry, Nieto awarded the distinction of “Meritorious Personality of Culture” to the Film Archive of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, in recognition of its work in preserving cinematic archives that constitute the country’s audiovisual heritage. He was also the first minister of Culture to attend the CADE (Annual Conference of Business Executives), where he stated that while Peru was an emerging country economically, it was a global cultural powerhouse.

Minister of Defense (2016–2018)

On December 5, 2016, Nieto was rotated from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Defense, replacing Mariano González, following a political scandal involving the latter. Nieto was succeeded at the Ministry of Culture by actor Salvador del Solar.

In February 2017, in his capacity as Minister of Defense, Nieto was appointed National Government Coordinator to address the Coastal El Niño phenomenon.[12] One of his first actions was to reactivate the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN), established to respond to the emergency caused by the climatic event. The defense sector was then mobilized to deliver aid to those affected and to carry out reconstruction efforts, successfully rallying public support under the slogan “Una sola fuerza” (“One single force”).

Nieto later described his tenure at the Ministry of Defense as positive, stating that it led to the highest level of public approval of the Armed Forces in recent decades —96%, according to a 2017 survey. Among his achievements, he also highlighted the Strategic Planning of the Defense Sector in the Military Field 2017–2021, approved in July 2017.

Following the resolution of the initial crisis surrounding presidential vacancy proceedings, and in light of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s decision to pardon former president Alberto Fujimori —who had been convicted of corruption and human rights violations— Nieto tendered his resignation as Minister of Defense. He officially left office on 3 January 2018.

Controversies

Nieto has been investigated for allegedly receiving illicit payments from the Brazilian construction companies OAS and Odebrecht. According to reports, he is said to have received US$129,000 for consultancy services provided to Susana Villarán during her tenure as mayor of Lima, with the payments allegedly made by Valfredo de Assis, then an executive at OAS. In response, Nieto stated that he would file a complaint against aspiring cooperating witness José Miguel Castro for allegedly defaming him.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office subsequently opened a preliminary investigation against him, along with Jaime Salinas, Anel Townsend, Marisa Glave, and others, in connection with the case surrounding the financial contributions to the vote of no-confidence on Susana Villarán as mayor of Lima.

Electoral history

See also

• Presidency of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski