Jorge Alfonso Alejandro Del Castillo Gálvez is a Peruvian lawyer and politician. In his career, he has served in the now abolished Peruvian Chamber of Deputies, in the unicameral Peruvian Congress of the Republic for five terms since 1995, and as Mayor of Lima and the Barranco during the 1980s. An adept negotiator, he is also a prominent member of the Peruvian Aprista Party, serving in two occasions as the party's Secretary-General. As right-hand man to the late former President Alan García, he served as his defense attorney during the first corruption and illicit enrichment allegations made in his first post-presidency, and finally as his first Prime Minister in his second presidential tenure.
A prominent member of the Peruvian Aprista Party, Del Castillo was elected for public office as Councilman of the District of Barranco in 1981. In 1984, he was elected Mayor of the same district. He held the position until 1985, when President Alan García appointed him Prefect of Lima. He rose to political prominence after being elected Mayor of Lima in 1987, defeating various popular candidates such as former christian democrat Mayor from the 1960s, Luis Bedoya Reyes and incumbent marxist Mayor Alfonso Barrantes Lingán. As Mayor, he did very little in the case of infrastructure and rehabilitation of roads, although he claimed that he couldn't do much because of the rise of terrorism. In 1990, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, serving until 1992, when President Alberto Fujimori dissolved Congress. During his short term in Congress, he defended APRA leader Alan García from the accusations against him involving corruption and unjust enrichment. After his ousting as a Deputy, he helped García escape from Peru and find refuge in Colombia. With García in exile, Del Castillo became one of the most respected leaders of the Party, and was elected Secretary General in 1999. Del Castillo returned to politics in 1995, when he was elected to Congress representing Lima. He was reelected for office in 2000, 2001, and 2006. In 2004, he was ratified as Secretary General of the Party for a second term, serving until 2006, when he resigned after being named by newly elected President Alan García as his inaugural Prime Minister.
Premiership
Del Castillo was sworn in as García's Prime Minister on July 28, 2006, swearing for Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre and "APRA martyrs blood". During his premiership, he gave political and economic stability to the country, generating confidence with Congress, making agreements with various unions and successfully managing social conflicts within the country.
Petroaudios and resignations
After the "Petroaudios" scandal revealed Del Castillo's involvement, he tendered his resignation with the whole cabinet on October 10, 2008, to President Alan García, marking his political downfall.
Post-Premiership
He served in Congress until 2011, after failing to achieve a fifth consecutive reelection. He served as Political Secretary General between 2010 and 2017, concurrently with the Institutional Secretary General, former Ayacucho Governor Omar Quesada. In the 2016 general election, Del Castillo was reelected for a fifth term in Congress, returning after 5 years of absence. By law, he cannot run again for reelection since the approval of the third clause of the 2018 Peruvian constitutional referendum, which states the prohibition of immediate reelection for congressman. His final tenure in office ended with the dissolution of Congress by Martín Vizcarra. He served a total of 19 years in Congress.
