Adolfo Ballivián
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Adolfo Ballivián Coll (November 15, 1831 – February 14, 1874) was constitutional president of Bolivia between 1873 and 1874.
Born in La Paz, Adolfo Ballivián was the son of former Bolivian President and war hero José Ballivián. Widely traveled, he was a member of the armed forces, orator, composer, writer, and congressman. During his early travels, while in Valparaiso, Chile, he met and married Carmen Grimwood Allende, of Quillota, Chile. In 1872, while traveling in Europe, he was elected President in what were possibly the cleanest elections up to that point in Bolivian history. He assumed power in April of 1873, benefited from a short "honeymoon" period and then faced the customary obdurate, obstructionist opposition of factionalist politicians. It is in this context that Congress denied Ballivián's urgent request to buy new warships in Europe in order to re-equip the fledgling, almost non-existent Bolivian Navy, in view of mounting challenges to Bolivian sovereignty in the Pacific by Chile. This congressional denial would be rued by Bolivians in subsequent years, when war finally erupted.
Tragically, President Adolfo Ballivián was stricken with stomach cancer within months of coming to power, and died on February 14, 1874. He was constitutionally succeeded by the head of the Council of State, Dr. Tomás Frías.
Grimwood, the paternal surname of Adolfo Ballivián's wife, and maternal surname of their children, is often misspelled Greenwood in genealogical resources such as FamilySearch.org
| Preceded by Tomás Frías |
President of Bolivia 1873-1874 |
Succeeded by Tomás Frías |
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