Manuel Pardo

Manuel Pardo
31st President of Peru
In office August 2, 1872 – August 2, 1876
Vice President	Manuel Costas Arce Francisco Garmendia Puértolas
Preceded by	Mariano Herencia Zevallos
Succeeded by	Mariano Ignacio Prado
Personal details
Born	(1834-08-09)August 9, 1834
Died	November 16, 1878(1878-11-16) (aged 44)
Political party	Civilista Party
Profession	Economist

Manuel Justo Pardo y Lavalle (August 9, 1834 – November 16, 1878) was a Peruvian politician who served as the 31st President of Peru. He was the first civilian President in Peru's history.

Born into an aristocratic family of Lima, Peru, his father, Felipe Pardo y Aliaga, was a diplomatist and his mother, Petronila de Lavalle y Cabero, daughter of the 2nd Count of Premio Real.

He was educated at four schools: Commercial School of Valparaíso, National Institute of Chile, College of Our Lady of Guadalupe and San Carlos Convictorium. Lavalle studied philosophy at University of Barcelona and economics and literature at the Collège de France.

Lavalle was director of Public-Benefit Society of Lima (1868) and Mayor of Lima (1869–1870). On 24 April 1871, he founded the Civilista Party, the most important political party of the Aristocratic Republic. He was elected president by the Peruvian Congress after a failed coup launched by colonel Tomás Gutierrez.

One of the most controversial acts committed during his presidency was the signing of a Treaty of Defensive Alliance with Bolivia. The objective of this pact was to protect themselves from what they perceived as "Chilean Imperialism" and a growing desire of Chile for the allied provinces of Tarapacá and Litoral.

On November 16, 1878, Manuel Pardo, president of the Senate, was assassinated by gunshot.

Their sons were José Pardo y Barreda, also President of Peru; Felipe Pardo y Barreda, V Marquis of Fuente Hermosa de Miranda; and Juan Pardo y Barreda, president of the Chamber of Deputies.

Sources

• Gootenberg, Paul. Imagining Development: Economic Ideas in Peru's "Fictitious Prosperity" of Guano, 1840-1880. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, c1993 1993.