MANUEL CANDAMO

'Manuel Candamo' (1847 – May 7, 1904) was President of Peru from September 8, 1903 until May 7, the following year, when he died in office.

Contents

Early life

Early political career

Pezet and the Chinchan Islands War

Civilista Party

War of the Pacific and Reconstruction

Later political career

President of the Junta

President of the Senate

Early life

Born in a wealthy family, he spend his early years in the "Colegio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe". After graduating from High School, he was accepted in the National University of San Marcos, where he obtained a bachelor's degree on Jurisprudence.

Early political career

Pezet and the Chinchan Islands War

In 1863, Candamo started to work for "El Comercio", one of the oldest newspapers in the capital. From there, he was a harsh critic of President Juan Antonio Pezet and the "Vivanco-Pareja Treaty", specifically for the way of how the government was handling the diplomatic crisis with Spain. For his actions, he was exiled to Chile, returning only after Mariano Ignacio Prado's successfully launched a coup against Pezet.
After the revolution, he was an active supporter of Prado during the Chincha Islands War. When the Peruvian Congress refused to recognize Prado's government, Candamo traveled to Chile as part of the Peruvian diplomatic mission. He did not stay on Chile, and left that country for Europe and Asia.

Civilista Party

Manuel Candamo, together with Manuel Pardo, was among the founding members of the Civilista Party. The party itself achieved public notoriety for being the first organized political party in Peru, and because it was also the first one to be composed primarily of civilians. During this period, Candamo successfully started once again his political career and several economic businesses.

War of the Pacific and Reconstruction

After the collapse of the Peruvian Southern Armies and the imminent invasion of Lima, Candamo took part in the defense of the city, fighting in the Battles of San Juan and Miraflores. When the city is occupied by the Chilean Army, Candamo and several other prominent politicians are deported to Chile due to their opposition to any peace proposal that involved ceding Tarapaca, Tacna and Arica to the Chileans.
Candamo returned to Peru after the Treaty of Ancón was signed and the war over, and is once again deported for his opposition to President Miguel Iglesias and support to Andrés Avelino Cáceres. Once Iglesias is overthrown and Cáceres is in power, Candamo was elected to the Senate, reaching its presidency in 1888, 1890 and 1892.

Later political career

President of the Junta

A member of the Civilista Party, Candamo served as mayor of Lima. After Andrés Avelino Cáceres was forced to resign from the Presidency in 1894, Candamo was selected to head a "Provisional Government Junta" and to call for new elections. Nicolás de Piérola, allied with the Civilista Party, won the election.

President of the Senate

During the administion of Eduardo López de Romaña, he was elected President of the Peruvian Senate. This was done after the Civilista and Democratic parties reached a compromise and divided their political influence in the government.
For the Election of 1903, Candamo was regarded as a moderate candidate and the more trusted political figure in the Civilista Party. After being elected President, Candamo became ill and died in office. He was married to Teresa Alvarez-Calderón.
Following a brief interim government headed by Serapio Calderon, Candamo was succeeded by his foreign minister José Pardo y Barreda.