Mariano Ignacio Prado

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**Mariano Ignacio Prado**

Full Title:	President of Peru
Term in Office:	April 25, 1865 – June 24, 1865 November 28, 1865 – January 7, 1868 August 2, 1876 – December 23, 1879
Predecessor:	Juan Antonio Pezet – (1865) Pedro Diez Canseco – (1865) Manuel Pardo – (1876)
Successor:	Juan Antonio Pezet – (1865) Pedro Diez Canseco – (1868) Nicolás de Piérola – (1879)
Date of Birth:	1826
Date of Death:	1901
Political party:	None - Army
Profession:	Army General

Mariano Ignacio Prado (1826-1901) was twice the President of Peru, from (1865-68, 1876-79). Born in Huánuco in 1826, he entered the army at an early age and served in the provinces of Southern Peru.

After a coup which overthrew Juan Antonio Pezet's government, Prado assumed the dictatorship of the country in 1865. He only served in that position for two months, leaving Pedro Diez Canseco as a provisional president for less than a month. Prado's intentions were to participate in that year's elections which, surprisingly, he won. He successfully defended Peru against Spanish aggression at the Battle of Callao on May 2, 1866. His first presidency lasted until 1868 when he had to resign under pressure from the Peruvian Congress.

After Manuel Pardo's presidential term ended in 1876, Prado was elected president again on August 2 of that year. His second term was marked with the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) which broke out with Chile. Prado took active measures to prepare for defence by leaving for Tacna and later Tarapaca (where he met Bolivian president Hilarión Daza), with the intention of taking command of the armies assembling there. He assessed Peru was not ready for the war and decided to go back to Lima to prepare and send back new re-enforcements.

In the course of these deliberations, Prado left his vice-president La Puerta in charge and decided to leave for Europe to buy more armament and obtain more money for the war. Prado wrote a manifesto to the nation explaining the difficulties of the war and that those "circumstances forced him to leave the country to acquire armament to defend the honor of the Homeland." Many Peruvians took this as an excuse for his inability to govern in the middle of the war, which led Nicolás de Piérola to stage a successful coup d'etat and later declared himself commander-in-chief in December 23, 1879. Prado did not return to Peru until the end of the war.

He later moved back to Europe and died in Paris, France in 1901.

Preceded by: Juan Antonio Pezet	President of Peru April 1865 – June 1865	Succeeded by: Juan Antonio Pezet
Preceded by: Pedro José Calderón	Prime Minister of Peru November 9, 1865 – June 1867	Succeeded by: Pedro J. Saavedra
Preceded by: Pedro Diez Canseco	President of Peru November 1865 – January 1868	Succeeded by: Pedro Diez Canseco
Preceded by: Manuel Pardo	President of Peru August 1876 – December 1879	Succeeded by: Nicolás de Piérola