List of Presidents of Uruguay

The incumbent President of Uruguay, Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou

The list of Presidents of Uruguay fully lists the heads of state in the history of the Republic of Uruguay to this day. The list also includes all of the country's interim presidents.

From August 25, 1825 to October 24, 1830, today's Uruguay was under the name Provincia Oriental del Río de la Plata (also Provincia de Montevideo ) part of the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata and was administered by governors. For the sake of completeness, the governors are included here.

Manuel Oribe (1843–1851) and Luis Lamas (1855) were each counter-presidents to the incumbent president; their names are highlighted in orange.

So far, three presidents have died in office ( Juan Idiarte Borda , Tomás Berreta , Óscar Diego Gestido ), with the former murdered. At Berreta and Gestido, the respective vice-presidents (Luis Batlle Berres at Berreta and Jorge Pacheco Areco at Gestido) took office. The office of Vice Presidents was created in 1934, and their names are also included on this list.

For a better overview, the list is divided into eight sections, which are based on the division of the article History of Uruguay .

The institution

According to the constitution of 1967 (amended several times, most recently in 1997), Uruguay is a democratic, constitutional presidential republic . The president, who is both head of state and head of government (prime minister), has a strong position and can veto legislative proposals by parliament (which in turn can be overruled with a 3/5 majority) and, under certain conditions, dissolve parliament. He appoints the members of his cabinet, is elected directly by the people together with the vice-presidents for a term of five years and is not allowed to run for office twice in a row.

List of governors of the Provincia Oriental del Río de la Plata

Surname	Term of office	comment
Juan Antonio Lavalleja	August 25, 1825 - December 1, 1828	Uruguay's independence from Brazil was proclaimed on August 25, 1825, but it was later decided to enter into a union with the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata .
Joaquín Suárez	December 1, 1828 - December 22, 1828	Interim governor
José Rondeau	22 December 1828 - April 17, 1830
Juan Antonio Lavalleja	April 17, 1830 - October 24, 1830	On July 18, 1830, Uruguay's first constitution was passed.

Timeline

List of Presidents of Uruguay

1830–1876: The time of the civil wars

With the final independence in 1830 a period of civil war began between the political groupings of the Colorados and the Blancos. The first two adversaries were the two first presidents of the young state: José Fructuoso Rivera , who represented the trade circles concentrated in Montevideo, and Manuel Oribe , who represented the interests of the agricultural sector. They were also the founders of the Partido Colorado and Partido Nacional parties .

Surname	Political party	Term of office	comment
Luis Eduardo Pérez	independent	October 24, 1830 - November 6, 1830	Senate President, Interim President
José Fructuoso Rivera	Partido Colorado	November 6, 1830 - October 24, 1834	Founder of the Partido Colorado , 1st constitutional president
Carlos Anaya	independent	October 24, 1834 - March 1, 1835	Senate President, Interim President
Manuel Oribe	Partido Nacional	March 1, 1835 - October 24, 1838	Founder of the Partido Nacional , 2nd constitutional president
Gabriel Antonio Pereira	independent	October 24, 1838 - November 11, 1838	Senate President, Interim President
José Fructuoso Rivera	Partido Colorado	November 11, 1838 - March 1, 1839	provisional government
José Fructuoso Rivera	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1839 - March 1, 1843	3rd constitutional president
Manuel Oribe	Partido Nacional	February 16, 1843 - October 8, 1851	Gobierno del Cerrito = government of the small hill (The Cerrito is a small hill outside of Montevideo.) - Counter-government to Joaquín Suárez
Joaquín Suárez	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1843 - February 15, 1852	Gobierno de la Defensa (Government of Defense)
Bernardo Prudencio Berro	Partido Nacional	February 15, 1852 - March 1, 1852	Senate President, Interim President
Juan Francisco Giró	Partido Nacional	March 1, 1852 - September 25, 1853	4. Constitutional President, overthrown by the military and replaced by a triumvirate of officers
Venancio Flores		September 25, 1853 - March 12, 1854	triumvirate
Juan Antonio Lavalleja		September 25, 1853 - October 22, 1853 (deceased in office)
José Fructuoso Rivera		September 25, 1853 - January 13, 1854 (deceased in office)
Venancio Flores	Partido Colorado	March 12, 1854 - September 10, 1855	provisional government
Luis Lamas	Partido Colorado	August 29, 1855 - September 10, 1855	Attempted a revolution of the conservadores , was proclaimed president by them (limited to Montevideo ), counter-government to Venancio Flores
Manuel Basilio Bustamante	Partido Colorado	September 10, 1855 - February 15, 1856	provisional government
José María Plá	Partido Colorado	February 15, 1856 - March 1, 1856	Senate President, Interim President
Gabriel Antonio Pereira	independent	March 1, 1856 - March 1, 1860	5th constitutional president
Bernardo Prudencio Berro	Partido Nacional	March 1, 1860 - March 1, 1864	6th Constitutional President
Atanasio Cruz Aguirre	Partido Nacional	March 1, 1864 - February 15, 1865	Was overthrown, his fall was one of the factors that triggered the Triple Alliance War
Tomás Villalba	Partido Colorado	February 15, 1865 - February 20, 1865	Senate President, Interim President
Venancio Flores	Partido Colorado	February 20, 1865 - February 15, 1868	provisional government
Pedro Varela	Partido Colorado	February 15, 1868 - March 1, 1868	Senate President, Interim President
Lorenzo Batlle	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1868 - March 1, 1872	7th constitutional president
Tomás Gomensoro	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1872 - March 1, 1873	Senate President, Interim President
José Eugenio Ellauri	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1873 - January 15, 1875	8. Constitutional President
Pedro Varela	Partido Colorado	January 15, 1875 - January 22, 1875	Interim president
Pedro Esteban Carve Pérez	Partido Colorado	January 22, 1875	Senate President, Interim President
Pedro Varela	Partido Colorado	January 22, 1875 - March 10, 1876	provisional government

Timeline

1876–1890: The military took power

In order to finally stop the party dispute, which was draining the country's resources, a very productive dictatorship (1876–1890) of progress-oriented military was established for the country. During this phase of authoritarian-led governments, the country took steps towards a modern state system by supporting the economy, expanding infrastructure, reforming the education system and promoting secularization .

Surname	Political party	Term of office	comment
Lorenzo Latorre	Partido Colorado	March 10, 1876 - March 1, 1879	dictator
Lorenzo Latorre	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1879 - March 15, 1880	9. Constitutional President
Francisco Antonio Vidal	Partido Colorado	March 15, 1880 - February 28, 1882	provisional government
Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez	Partido Colorado	February 28, 1882 - March 1, 1882	Senate President, Interim President
Máximo Santos	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1882 - March 1, 1886	10th Constitutional President
Francisco Antonio Vidal	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1886 - May 24, 1886	11th Constitutional President
Máximo Santos	Partido Colorado	May 24, 1886 - November 18, 1886	Senate President, Interim President
Máximo Tajes	Partido Colorado	November 18, 1886 - March 1, 1890	provisional government

Timeline

1890–1931: transition to modern times

After the end of military rule, the civil element returned to politics in 1890 with President Julio Herrera y Obes of the Colorados. Coinciding with the turn of the century and flanked by an international economy that favored the country, Uruguay now entered a long-lasting era of democratization and prosperity, which is strongly linked to the name of one man: José Batlle y Ordóñez , founder of the so-called Batllismo, who too still dominating political currents in Uruguay today. After a brief interim presidency in 1899, he was President of Uruguay twice (1903–1907 and 1911–1915) and created the Uruguayan welfare state, especially in his second term.

Surname	Political party	Term of office	comment
Julio Herrera y Obes	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1890 - March 1, 1894	12th Constitutional President
Duncan Stewart	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1894 - March 21, 1894	Senate President, Interim President
Juan Idiarte Borda	Partido Colorado	March 21, 1894 - August 25, 1897	13. Constitutional President, Murdered in Office
Juan Lindolfo Cuestas	Partido Colorado	August 25, 1897 - February 10, 1898	Senate President, Interim President
Juan Lindolfo Cuestas	Partido Colorado	February 10, 1898 - February 15, 1899	provisional government
José Batlle y Ordóñez	Partido Colorado	February 15, 1899 - March 1, 1899	Senate President, Interim President
Juan Lindolfo Cuestas	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1899 - March 1, 1903	14th Constitutional President
José Batlle y Ordóñez	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1903 - March 1, 1907	15th Constitutional President
Claudio Williman	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1907 - March 1, 1911	16. Constitutional President
José Batlle y Ordóñez	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1911 - March 1, 1915	17th constitutional president
Feliciano Viera	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1915 - March 1, 1919	18. Constitutional President
Baltasar Brum	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1919 - March 1, 1923	19th Constitutional President
José Serrato	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1923 - March 1, 1927	20th Constitutional President
Juan Campisteguy	Partido Colorado	March 1, 1927 - March 1, 1931	21st Constitutional President

Timeline

1931–1943: period of authoritarian governments

After the death of Batlle and the economic crisis of 1929, which hit Uruguay particularly hard as an export-oriented country, Gabriel Terra became president and, after a successful coup, declared himself dictator on March 31, 1933. He dissolved the national governing body and the legislative forces that limited his power. In 1934 the new constitution was plebiscite and, although the re-election of the president was unconstitutional, Terra was elected for another term. The new constitution abolished the national board of directors and transferred its powers to the president. In addition, certain social rights have now been guaranteed by the constitution (e.g. the right to a home and the right to work) and the right to vote for women.

General elections were held in 1938 - the first where women were allowed to vote, since women's suffrage had only been introduced in 1932 - which was won by Terra's brother-in-law, Alfredo Baldomir . During the Second World War , Uruguay sided with the Allies . Los Blancos heavily criticized the Colorados' policy of increasing cooperation with the US and called for Uruguay to remain neutral. In February 1942, Baldomir dissolved the General Council and replaced it with the Consejo de Estado .

image	Surname	Political party	Vice President	Term of office	comment
	Gabriel Terra	Partido Colorado	César Charlone (from 1934)	March 1, 1931 - June 19, 1938	22nd constitutional president, declared himself dictator on March 31, 1933 after a successful coup.
	Alfredo Baldomir	Partido Colorado	Alfredo Navarro	June 19, 1938 - March 1, 1943	23rd Constitutional President

Timeline

1943–1959: period after the Second World War

The government of Juan José de Amézaga reformed the social laws; In 1943 she introduced the “Consejo de Salarios”, a “wages council” for negotiating and setting wages, made up of representatives from the state, employers and employees, and introduced a program to promote families. At the same time, agricultural workers were integrated into the pension system.

In February 1945, war was finally declared on the German Reich and Japan . As in the First World War , Uruguay did not send any soldiers. In the same year the country became a founding member of the United Nations .

The government of Luis Batlle Berres (1947-1951) brought economic prosperity, which was mainly supported by Uruguayan exports during the Korean War (1950-1953). In the presidential and parliamentary elections of 1950, Andrés Martínez Trueba was again a member of the Colorados.

Surname	Political party	Vice President	Term of office	comment
Juan José de Amézaga	Partido Colorado	Alberto Guani	March 1, 1943 - March 1, 1947	24th Constitutional President
Tomás Berreta	Partido Colorado	Luis Batlle Berres	March 1, 1947 - August 2, 1947 (deceased in office)	25th Constitutional President
Luis Batlle Berres	Partido Colorado	Alfeo Brum	August 2, 1947 - March 1, 1951	Vice-President of Tomás Berreta , was the first Vice-President to take office following the President's death
Andrés Martínez Trueba	Partido Colorado	Alfeo Brum	March 1, 1951 - March 1, 1952	26th constitutional president, abolished the office of president in 1952 by means of a constitutional amendment confirmed by referendum and transferred government power to a national council consisting of nine members ( Consejo Nacional de Gobierno ).
Consejo Nacional de Gobierno	Partido Colorado	no vice president	March 1, 1952 - March 1, 1955	Consejo Nacional de Gobierno Chairman: Andrés Martínez Trueba (1952–1955)
Consejo Nacional de Gobierno	Partido Colorado	no vice president	March 1, 1955 - March 1, 1959	Consejo Nacional de Gobierno Chair: Luis Batlle Berres (March 1, 1955 - March 1, 1956) Alberto Fermín Zubiría (March 1, 1956 - March 1, 1957) Arturo Lezama Bagez (March 1, 1957 - March 1, 1958) Carlos L. Fischer (March 1, 1958 - March 1, 1959)

Timeline

1959–1973: Decline of democracy

In 1958, Los Blancos were elected by a large majority after 93 years in Colorado. The new government implemented economic reforms and subsequently faced severe labor unrest.

From 1959 the country faced major economic problems caused by the decline in the demand for agricultural products. This led to mass unemployment, inflation and a decline in the previous standard of living. Social unrest broke out and an urban guerrilla movement was founded in Montevideo. These guerrillas, called Tupamaros , first attacked banks and distributed the stolen money and food to the poor. They later kidnapped politicians and attacked security forces.

In 1966, Blancos and Colorados jointly supported an initiative to restore the presidential system, which the population approved in a referendum. The Colorados emerged victorious from the presidential elections with the former General Óscar Diego Gestido and replaced the Blancos in government responsibility. The constitution was amended in 1967 so that now Los Blancos and Colorado governments took turns. After Gestido's death in 1967, Vice President Jorge Pacheco Areco took over the presidency. Pacheco's policy of restrictive measures to combat inflation sparked great unrest and the Tupamaros stepped up their terrorist acts against the government. In 1968 President Jorge Pacheco Areco declared a state of emergency and four years later his successor, Juan María Bordaberry , suspended civil rights. In April 1972, Congress declared a state of war and repealed the fundamental rights established by the constitution; the state of war was repealed on July 11, and the constitution did not come into force again until 1973.

Surname	Political party	Vice President	Term of office	comment
Consejo Nacional de Gobierno	Partido Nacional	no vice president	March 1, 1959 - March 1, 1963	Consejo Nacional de Gobierno Chair: Martín Etchegoyen (March 1, 1959 - March 1, 1960) Benito Nardone (March 1, 1960 - March 1, 1961) Eduardo Víctor Haedo (March 1, 1961 - March 1, 1962) Faustino Harrison (March 1, 1962 - March 1, 1963)
Consejo Nacional de Gobierno	Partido Nacional	no vice president	March 1, 1963 - March 1, 1967	Consejo Nacional de Gobierno Chair: Daniel Fernández Crespo (March 1, 1963 - March 1, 1964) Luis Giannattasio (March 1, 1964 - February 7, 1965) Washington Beltran (February 7, 1965 - March 1, 1966) Alberto Héber Usher (March 1, 1966 - March 1, 1967, Sep. 1966 - January 1967 represented by Carlos María Penadés for candidacy for president )
Óscar Diego Gestido	Partido Colorado	Jorge Pacheco Areco	March 1, 1967 - December 6, 1967	27th Constitutional President (deceased in office)
Jorge Pacheco Areco	Partido Colorado	Alberto Abdala	December 6, 1967 - March 1, 1972	Vice-President of Óscar Diego Gestido, became President upon his death
Juan María Bordaberry	Partido Colorado	Jorge Sapelli	March 1, 1972 - June 27, 1973	28th Constitutional President

Timeline

1973–1985: military dictatorship

On June 27, 1973, amid an economic crisis with high inflation, the military decided to close Congress and take power . The CNT ( Convención Nacional de Trabajadores : National Workers' Agreement) countered with a nationwide strike that was violently crushed by the government on July 11th. On August 11th, the unions lost their autonomy. The CNT and political parties were banned. The leaders of the left-wing groups were persecuted and executed.

In 1976 Bordaberry was deposed by the military and a new National Council with 25 civilians and 21 officers elected Aparicio Méndez as president. One of the first official acts of his government was the revocation of the civil rights of all persons who were involved in the political events between 1966 and 1973. The number of political prisoners in 1976 was around 6,000.

A proposal for a new constitution was rejected on November 30, 1980 by 57.2% of the electorate. In September 1981, General Gregorio Álvarez Armelino , who was considered to be moderate, took office. The parties re-approved by the military as part of the democratization process held internal party elections in 1982 in preparation for the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 1984. In 1984 the protest against the military government increased massively. After a 24-hour general strike, the military then prepared a program to return power to a civilian government.

Surname	Political party	Vice President	Term of office	comment
Juan María Bordaberry	Partido Colorado	no vice president	Jun. 27, 1973 - June 12, 1976	Was overthrown by the military
Alberto Demicheli	Partido Colorado	no vice president	June 12, 1976 - September 1, 1976	Interim President, de facto appointed by the military
Aparicio Méndez	Partido Nacional	no vice president	September 1, 1976 - October 12, 1981	Military dictatorship, de facto appointed by the military
Gregorio Álvarez Armelino	military	no vice president	October 12, 1981 - February 12, 1985	Military dictatorship, de facto appointed by the military

Timeline

Since 1985: return to democracy

In February 1985 presidential elections took place, the winner was Julio María Sanguinetti of the Colorados, one of the leading resistanceists against the military government. With him, a civilian followed as president after twelve years.

Between 1990 and 1995 Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera was President of the Partido Nacional. During his mandate, Uruguay was one of the founders of Mercosurs in 1991 . In addition, Uruguay implemented a currency reform (1 Uruguayan peso replaced 1000 peso Nuevos, the currency that was valid until then) and passed an amnesty law for torture of the military during the dictatorship ( Ley de Caducidad ).

The presidential elections in October 2004 marked a historic change in the history of the country, which has been ruled alternately by the Colorados and Blancos since independence in 1828, when voters chose a left-wing candidate, former Mayor of Montevideo, Tabaré Vázquez . It was set up by an alliance of several left-wing parties, the Frente Amplio (German: Broad Front), and won the first ballot with 51 percent of the vote. On March 1, 2005, he replaced Batlle as president.

Surname	Political party	Vice President	Term of office	comment
Rafael Addiego Bruno	independent	no vice president	February 12, 1985 - March 1, 1985	President of the Suprema Corte de Justicia , interim president
Julio María Sanguinetti	Partido Colorado	Enrique Tarigo	March 1, 1985 - March 1, 1990	29. Constitutional President, with him a civilian was President again after twelve years.
Luis Alberto Lacalle	Partido Nacional	Gonzalo Aguirre	March 1, 1990 - March 1, 1995	30th constitutional president, under him currency reform was carried out
Julio María Sanguinetti	Partido Colorado	Hugo Batalla (until October 3, 1998) Hugo Fernández Faingold	March 1, 1995 - March 1, 2000	31. Constitutional President
Jorge Batlle Ibáñez	Partido Colorado	Luis Antonio Hierro López	March 1, 2000 - March 1, 2005	32nd Constitutional President
Tabaré Vázquez Rosas	Front Amplio	Rodolfo Nin Novoa	March 1, 2005 - March 1, 2010	33rd Constitutional President. Vázquez was Mayor of Montevideos from 1990 to 1995.
José Mujica	Front Amplio	Danilo Astori	March 1, 2010 - March 1, 2015	34th Constitutional President.
Tabaré Vázquez Rosas	Front Amplio	Raúl Fernando Sendic (until September 2017) Lucía Topolansky	March 1, 2015 - March 1, 2020	35th constitutional president, 2nd term
Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou	Partido Nacional	Beatrice Argimón	since March 1, 2020	36th Constitutional President

Timeline

literature

Klaus-Jürgen Matz: Who ruled when? Regent tables for world history. From the beginnings to the present , dtv, 5th edition, Munich 2001 ISBN 3-423-32523-2 .

Web links

Galería de presidentes del Uruguay ( Memento from February 15, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Pictures of the presidents to Jorge Batlle Ibáñez (in Spanish)
Official website of the President (in Spanish)
Constitution of the Republic of Uruguay (in Spanish)
History of the elections in Uruguay (in Spanish)
List of heads of state in Uruguay
www.worldstatesmen.org (in English)

Individual evidence

^ Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 437

[1] Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 437