Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú (1740–1810) was a Spanish soldier and politician who spent most of his career in South America.
Born in Villafranca del Bierzo, León, Olaguer was sent to Buenos Aires as a military specialist during the governorship of Pedro de Cevallos. He took part in the siege of Colonia del Sacramento in 1777. He was named military inspector in 1783.
He served as Governor of Montevideo between August 2, 1790 and February 11, 1797, and was subsequently named Viceroy of the Río de la Plata, a position he occupied between May 2, 1797 and May 14, 1799.
During his mandate, he had to contend with the presence of British and Portuguese forces in the Río de la Plata region, as well as nascent revolutionary sentiment inspired by the recent French Revolution. He opened the port of Buenos Aires to foreign traffic in a bid to stimulate the commercial activities of the Viceroyalty, which had begun to suffer from the growing tensions between the European powers.
On his return to Spain he was named Secretary of War by Charles IV. He died in Madrid in 1810.
Government offices | ||
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Preceded by Joaquín del Pino |
Governor of Montevideo 1790-1797 |
Succeeded by José de Bustamante |
Preceded by Pedro de Melo |
Viceroy of Río de la Plata 1797-1799 |
Succeeded by The Marquis of Avilés |