Francisco Ramón Vicuña

Francisco Ramón Vicuña
President of Chile
In office 2 November 1829 – 7 December 1829
Preceded by	Francisco Antonio Pinto
Succeeded by	Francisco Ruiz-Tagle
In office 16 July 1829 – 19 October 1829
Preceded by	Francisco Antonio Pinto
Succeeded by	Francisco Antonio Pinto
Personal details
Born	9 September 1775 Santiago, Chile
Died	13 January 1849(1849-01-13) (aged 73) Santiago, Chile
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Mariana de Aguirre

Francisco Ramón de Vicuña Larraín (September 9, 1775 – January 13, 1849) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as acting President of Chile in 1829. Francisco Vicuña was of Basque descent.^[1]

Early life

He was born in Santiago on 1775, the son of Francisco de Vicuña Hidalgo y Zavala and of María del Carmen Larraín Salas y Vicuña. He married Mariana de Aguirre, and had 11 children with her.

In 1810, Vicuña participated in Chile's war for independence and organized the first firearms production in the country. In 1811, he represented Osorno in the congress, which was to give Chile a constitution, in 1814, he moved to the Senate of Chile. Then, he was arrested for conspiracy against the Spanish crown and banished into exile. Only after Chile's victory at the battle of Chacabuco in 1817, was he able to return to his home land. Bernardo O'Higgins appointed him as a government representative to the northern provinces.

Political life

In 1823 he became the head of the administration of Santiago and then as a delegate to the constitutional convention that year. He was one of the main defenders of the Federalist position championed by José Miguel Infante. In 1825 the Supreme Director of Chile Ramón Freire appointed him to be his deputy as well as foreign and interior minister and at times acting war, naval, and finance minister.

In 1829, when Francisco Antonio Pinto was elected President of Chile, the runners-up where Francisco Ruiz-Tagle, a liberal federalist, and José Joaquín Prieto, a conservative centralist, who both received the same amount of votes. Nonetheless, congress, the majority of which was liberal, declared Joaquín Vicuña, a distant third and brother of Francisco Ramón (who was president of the senate) Vice-President. The centralists outraged decided for armed resistance and the Chilean Civil War of 1829 broke out.

In the ensuing civil war between the conservative centralists and the liberal federalists, Pinto was forced twice to leave the post of president to Vicuña. First, from July 14 to October 19, when Vicuña assumed as President Delegate, and then finally when he resigned on November 2 and Vicuña assumed power. On December 7, 1829 the conservative troops under José Joaquín Prieto approached Santiago from the South. The government under Vicuña fled northward to Coquimbo, where they were, however, imprisoned by the victorious conservative troops. Then, Chile was without a leader for a few weeks (from December 7 to 24, 1829) until a Government Junta was organized and took control under José Tomás Ovalle.

Under the centralist governments of José Joaquín Prieto and Manuel Bulnes, the liberal Vicuña could not hold any governmental positions. He died in Santiago on January 13, 1849.

Cabinet

See also

• Vicuña family
• Chilean Civil War of 1829

Sources

History of Chile
Presidents of Chile Blanco Encalada Eyzaguirre Freire F. Pinto Vicuña Ovalle Ruiz-Tagle Ovalle Prieto Bulnes M. Montt Pérez Errázuriz Zañartu A. Pinto Santa María Balmaceda J. Montt Errázuriz Echaurren Riesco P. Montt Figueroa Barros Luco Sanfuentes Alessandri Palma Figueroa Ibáñez del Campo Montero Dávila Alessandri Palma Aguirre Cerda Méndez Ríos González Videla Ibáñez del Campo Alessandri Rodriguez Frei Montalva Allende Pinochet Aylwin Frei Ruiz-Tagle Lagos Bachelet Piñera Bachelet Timeline Presidents of the Senate of Chile Vivar Errázuriz Cienfuegos Eyzaguirre Egaña Vial Novoa Cienfuegos Elizondo Barros Tocornal Yrarrázaval Benavente Pinto Cerda Larraín Correa de Saa Covarrubias Pérez Covarrubias Varas Santa María Eastman Silva Edwards Lazcano Sanfuentes Balmaceda Matte Charme Tocornal Claro Yáñez Oyarzún Opaso Cabero Urrutia Manzano Marambio Urrutia Manzano Maza Cruchaga Durán Opaso Urrejola Alessandri Palma Alvarez Alessandri Palma Alessandri Rodríguez Pérez de Arce Videla Zepeda Ahumada Reyes Maurás Reyes Allende Pablo Aylwin Palma Acuña Frei Montalva Government Junta Valdés Diez Zaldívar Larraín Romero Frei Ruiz-Tagle Zaldívar Novoa Pizarro Girardi Escalona Pizarro Allende Walker Lagos Cabinet of President Francisco Ramón Vicuña (1829) Minister of Government & Foreign Affairs Melchor José Ramos (1829) José Nicolás de la Cerda (1829) Minister of Finance Manuel José Huici (1829) Pedro José Prado (1829) Secretary of War José Santiago Muñoz (1829) José Antonio Pérez de Cotapos (1829) Secretary of Navy José Manuel Calderón (1829)