• November 26, 2001
• Vol. 56
• No. 22

Vicente Fox: Sexiest World Leader

• 

From PEOPLE Magazine

Mexico's president stands 6'6" in his trademark cowboy boots, has a matinee-idol mustache and wears a belt buckle that says simply F-O-X. And while these qualities have nothing to do with running a country, they have made politics a lot more interesting for several million senoritas. "Fox broke the mold for a president," says Lili Estefan, cohost of Spanish TV's El Gordo y La Flaca (The Fat Guy and the Skinny Girl). "Countless women were trying to get him."

In July, a year after his election, hopes were dashed when Fox, 59, a divorcé with four children, chose Marta Sahagún, 48, his former communications director, as his bride. "Ours wasn't a sudden romance," she says. "We built it on a solid friendship." Fox came to politics in 1988, after a successful career with Coca-Cola. Now, he told 60 Minutes, he hopes "to show a profit for the people" by increasing personal income. "He takes responsibility," says Estefan. "He is charming but serious—and very much a gentleman."