Fermín Toro y Blanco (Caracas- El Valle, 14 July 1806 - Caracas, 23 December 1865) was a Venezuelan humanist, politician, diplomat and author.

Biography

Within his public life he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, twice

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

(in 1847 and in 1858), President of the National Convention of 1858, President of the Chamber of Deputies, Plenipotentiary Minister to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and Colombia, and Presidential candidate in two occasions. Together with the Government of the Spanish Queen Isabel II he signed in 1846 the Ratification of the Treaty of Recognition of Venezuela's Independence by Spain, the former colonial metropolis. Subsequently, a ball on his honour was offered by the Queen. He also negotiated border delimitations with Colombia and relevant political issues with European capitals. He is also remembered for his writings and oratorical skills. Even though he was the author of the first Venezuelan novel he is better known for his economic and political essays. The relevance attained by his essays is shown by the fact that he was quoted by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

in ''Resurrection''. He was also active as a philologist and a botanist. He is considered by many as the best orator in Venezuela's parliamentary history. Within Venezuela's history, he epitomizes the strength of moral character against the oppressive force of government, as expressed by his stance against the attack on Congress ordered on 24 January 1848 by President

Jose Tadeo Monagas Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition ...

. All Venezuelans learn in school the famous phrase by which he responded to Monagas' envoys, which wanted him to validate the violation of Congress: "Go and tell General Monagas that my dead body can be carried, but Fermin Toro doesn't prostitute himself".

Death and legacy

His remains were located at the Panteón Nacional on 23 April 1876. Several universities and schools have been named in his honour, including the Liceo Fermin Toro, Venezuela's largest and more prestigious public school. He has been the object of several biographies. One of Caracas main avenues is named after him, while his statue is at the entrance of the Liceo Fermin Toro. The Venezuelan National Congress has four lateral squares, each of which bears the name of a famous parliamentarian, with one of them honoring him.

Family

He belonged to the family of the Marquess del Toro of Caracas (his great grandfather, Francisco Rodríguez del Toro e Isturiz, had been a colonial

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

of Venezuela), and he was closely related to Francisco Rodríguez del Toro and Fernando Rodriguez del Toro, important figures of the Venezuelan Independence process and to Maria Teresa Rodriguez del Toro y Alayza, the wife of Simón Bolívar.

Works

Among his publications are the following ones: * Essay ** ''Reflexiones sobre la Ley del 10 de abril de 1834''. **''Los estudios filosóficos en Venezuela, Europa y América'' **''Cuestión de imprenta.'' **''Descripción de los honores fúnebres consagrados a los restos del Libertador Simón Bolívar'' (1842) **''Discurso ante la Convención de Valencia'' (1858) **''Ensayo gramatical sobre el idioma guajiro'', (the manuscript was compiled by Adolf Ernst in 1872) *Novels ** ''Los Mártires'' (1842). ** ''La Viuda de Corinto'' (1837) ** ''La Sibila de los Andes''.

Institutions named after Fermín Toro

* Universidad Fermín Toro,

Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; guc, Watkisimeeta) is a city in Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial and transportation center of the country, recognized as the f ...

* Colegio Universitario Fermín Toro,

* Liceo Fermín Toro, Caracas ( :es:Liceo Fermín Toro) * Instituto de Estudios Parliamentarios Fermín Toro

References

External links

Discurso ante la Convención (1858)
Discurso de Fermín Toro en el portal de Venezuela Analítica.
Los Mártires de Fermín Toro. Primera novela venezolana
Análisis de Luis Inigo Madrigal en el portal del instituto Cervantes (Centro Virtual Cervantes).
Fermín Toro: Teoría racional de la sociedad y republicanismo cívico
Investigación de Rafael García Torres para la revista ''Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana'' de la

Universidad del Zulia The University of Zulia ( es, La Universidad del Zulia, also known as LUZ literally meaning "light" in Spanish), is a public university whose main campus is located in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela. LUZ is one of the largest and most important ...

. Trabajo ubicado en el portal de la Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. En ese trabajo se bosqueja las ideas de Fermín Toro acerca de un modelo de desarrollo de Venezuela sobre bases libertarias, justas y de igualdad social.
Discurso ante la Convención (1858)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toro, Fermin 1806 births 1865 deaths People from Caracas Venezuelan male writers Venezuelan Ministers of Foreign Affairs Finance ministers of Venezuela Central University of Venezuela alumni Central University of Venezuela faculty Venezuelan people of Canarian descent Venezuelan people of Spanish descent Ambassadors of Venezuela to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Venezuela to Spain Ambassadors of Venezuela to France Ambassadors of Venezuela to Colombia Burials at the National Pantheon of Venezuela