José Jerí biography: the president who lasted 130 days

Few Peruvians knew the name José Jerí before the night of October 9, 2025. The next day he was president of the republic. Just 130 days later, he made the news for the opposite reason: Congress removed him from office with 75 votes. In October 2026, with a court hearing set for the 5th of that month, his name remains prominent in Peruvian politics. Here is who he is, how he rose so high with so few votes, and why he fell so quickly.

Who is José Jerí?

José Jerí is a Peruvian lawyer and politician born on November 13, 1986, in Lima. A member of Somos Perú since 2013, he entered Congress in 2021 as an alternate for Martín Vizcarra, chaired Parliament from July 2025 and served as president of Peru from October 10, 2025, to February 17, 2026. He is now a congressman for Lima and the subject of prosecutorial investigations.

José Jerí: childhood and early years

José Enrique Jerí Oré was born in the Lima district of Jesús María. Unlike some Peruvian politicians, little is publicly known about his family: his official résumés do not mention parents or siblings, and he has avoided discussing the subject. His education, however, is public.

He studied law at the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2014, and qualified as a lawyer at the Universidad Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in 2015. He later completed a master’s degree in Public Policy Management at Villarreal.

He became interested in politics early. While at university, he joined Somos Perú, the party founded by former Lima mayor Alberto Andrade, and held positions in its youth leadership. He formally registered as a member in 2013. That party connection, more than any technical role, eventually opened the door to Congress.

José Jerí’s political career

Jerí’s career illustrates how Peruvian politics works. In the 2021 elections, he ran for Congress in Lima with Somos Perú and received just over 11,600 votes, normally not enough for a seat. But he was listed as the alternate for Martín Vizcarra, who received more than 200,000 votes and was disqualified by Congress days later. Jerí took the seat and was sworn in as a congressman on July 26, 2021.

In Parliament he mostly stayed out of the headlines, although he sponsored bills on security, employment, health and university education and chaired the Budget Committee. His major advance came on July 26, 2025, when he was elected president of the Congressional Board for the final legislative year.

What followed was not on anyone’s agenda:

• October 9, 2025: Congress removes Dina Boluarte for moral incapacity amid a public-security crisis.
• October 10, 2025: Jerí is sworn in as president through constitutional succession. He is the seventh occupant of the presidential palace in less than a decade.
• October 21, 2025: he declares a 30-day state of emergency in Metropolitan Lima and Callao in a national address lasting just 46 seconds. The measure is extended in November.
• January 2026: prosecutors open a preliminary investigation into a meeting with a Chinese businessman linked to Nuctech. It emerges that his congressional office was paying approximately S/48 thousand a month to seven employees with no visible legislative activity.
• February 13, 2026: a new influence-peddling investigation concerns the hiring of nine women in the Presidential Office.
• February 17, 2026: Congress passes a censure motion by 75 votes to 24, with 3 abstentions. Losing the presidency of Congress automatically ends his term as president of the republic.
• February 18, 2026: José María Balcázar of Perú Libre is elected president of Congress and becomes interim president until July 28, 2026.

His government lasted 130 days. He never presented the promised assessment of the state of emergency; in November 2025, he defended it by saying that “things do not change overnight.”

José Jerí: offices and milestones

José Jerí’s personal life

Jerí entered the presidential palace with an unusual profile: unmarried, with no children or wife. He identifies as Catholic and has said he is in a relationship, although he has not identified his partner publicly. In a country accustomed to first ladies with their own public agendas, the detail drew press attention from the start.

His private life also drew controversy. In January 2025, he was accused of sexual assault following a New Year’s gathering in Canta, north of Lima. The case involved court protection measures and a psychological report widely covered by the press. In August 2025, prosecutors closed the case for lack of evidence, two months before Jerí became president. Famosix considers it important to clarify that the prosecutorial decision ended the criminal case, although the allegation remained part of public debate throughout his administration.

Interesting facts about José Jerí

• He entered Congress with 11,600 votes. He had one of the lowest direct electoral vote totals among recent Peruvian presidents. In practice, he took Martín Vizcarra’s congressional seat.
• His first national address lasted 46 seconds. It announced the state of emergency in Lima and Callao on October 21, 2025.
• He governed for 130 days. It was the second-shortest recent presidential term in Peru, behind only Manuel Merino’s five days in November 2020.
• He became president without ever winning an election of his own. He entered Congress as an alternate and the presidential palace through constitutional succession.
• He was Peru’s seventh president in less than ten years, after Kuczynski, Vizcarra, Merino, Sagasti, Castillo and Boluarte.
• His successor was also an interim president. José María Balcázar served until Keiko Fujimori was sworn in on July 28, 2026.

José Jerí in 2026

José Jerí’s 2026 has two parts. In the first, he was a president removed by censure. In the second, he was a congressman under investigation. He returned to his Lima seat on February 17, during a legislative term that ended on July 26 with the installation of the new bicameral Congress.

On the legal front, on September 15, 2026, the First Transitional Supreme Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Official Misconduct asked the courts to lift the secrecy of his communications in connection with alleged illegal sponsorship and influence peddling. The request covers his entire presidency, from October 10, 2025, to February 17, 2026, and also involves Chinese businessman Zhihua Yang, a representative of Nuctech Peru, one of the women hired at the palace and a police commander. The Supreme Preparatory Investigation Court scheduled a closed hearing for Monday, October 5, 2026.

For the wider political context, read our biographies of Dina Boluarte, whom he succeeded, and Keiko Fujimori, who now holds the office he left.

Conclusion

José Jerí’s story shows that in Peru someone can become president without winning an election and lose the office within half a year. It reflects a decade of political instability that the country is still processing. Famosix will update this profile as courts make further decisions. Meanwhile, explore all our biographies of Peruvian politicians.

Sources consulted

• Infobae: Peru’s Congress removes President José Jerí with 75 votes
• Infobae: José María Balcázar becomes Peru’s new president after José Jerí is censured
• Infobae: Prosecutors ask court to lift secrecy of José Jerí’s communications in influence-peddling case
• CNN en Español: Who is José Jerí, Peru’s unexpected new president?
• RPP: Who is José Jerí, who entered Congress after Martín Vizcarra’s disqualification?
• La República: President José Jerí declares a state of emergency in Metropolitan Lima and Callao