Roberto Suazo Córdova (born 1927) was a small-town physician who gained international attention when he became president of Honduras in 1982 after its military rulers agreed to restore civilian government to the country. He promoted the democratic process and moderate economic reform, while at the same time cooperating with a U.S. military build-up in Honduras.

Roberto Suazo Córdova was born in La Paz, Honduras, on March 17, 1927. After receiving his M.D. at the University of San Carlos in Guatemala in 1949 and working in the Guatemala General Hospital until 1953, he returned to his native La Paz and practiced medicine for 25 years. His career as a small-town doctor put him closely in touch with the common people and folk culture of his country. He was an active, if conservative, member of the Liberal Party, serving often in the Honduran Congress and as a delegate to constitutional conventions...