Lic. Javier Castellanos de León

He graduated as a Pharmaceutical Chemist from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala in 1959 and devoted himself fully to his professional practice and to participate in multiple activities to contribute to the development of the career he chose, in Guatemala and Central America.

In his professional practice, he participated actively in the Central American Pharmaceutical Federation a few years after graduating. He was elected to other positions in that same association.

He chaired the Board of Directors of the College of Pharmacists and Chemists of Guatemala, Promoter and co-founder of the Legal Professional Entity, ” Association of Presidents of Professional Associations ”, which he also chaired. Vice President for the Central America area, the Pan American Federation of Pharmacy and Biochemistry on two occasions and active member of the American Pharmaceutical Association. In 1990 he was an associate professor at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.

As an entrepreneur, he founded the Laboratorios Quifarma, S.A., of Bertel de Centroamérica, S.A., and of the marketers of pharmaceutical and medical-hospital products Mediphar, S.A. and Ker, S.A.

He participated in politics, being elected as a Deputy twice, by the Partido de Avanzada Nacional, from 1994 to 2000. He was Vice-president of the Commission of Public Health and Social Assistance, which he later chaired, as well as of the Economic Commission. He also served as First Secretary of the Board of Directors of Congress in 1997.

Derived from a cardiovascular condition, he had the opportunity to receive the medical attention he required outside of Guatemala. This led him to see the need in our country, to have a specialized hospital. Together with other friends, in 2001 he founded the non-profit association AMEGESO, installing in Guatemala the first Hospital for Cardiovascular Surgery, UNICAR, of which he was an active member until 2015. As a parliamentarian, he managed to sign an agreement between UNICAR and the Guatemalan Social Security Institute, through which all affiliated workers are treated free of charge in this hospital.

In 2009, the College of Pharmacists and Chemists of Guatemala honored him with a gold medal for having completed 50 years of professional practice. In 2012, the Association of Professional Associations of Guatemala named him as a Distinguished Professional, honor is granted to a single professional, every year.

The last years of his life he dedicated them to Ker, S.A., managing to cement the company he directed for 16 years. He left a great legacy in professional, political, business and above all, family, showing that it is possible to succeed being honest, whole and living fully.