Alberto Abdala (; 8 April 1920 – 13 January 1986) was an

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

an attorney, politician, painter and Vice-President from 1967 to 1972.

Background

Alberto Abdala was born in

Maldonado, Uruguay Maldonado () is the capital city of Maldonado Department, in eastern Uruguay. According to the 2023 Census, it is the fourth most populated city in the country, with about 102 thousand inhabitants. However, together with the cities of Punta del E ...

in 1920. He was of Lebanese descent. He was a member of the Colorado Party. He served as

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

and later as member of the

National Council of Government (Uruguay) The National Council of Government () was the ruling body in Uruguay between 1952 and 1967. It consisted of nine members, of which six were from the party that received the most votes in general elections, and three from the runner-up party. Gene ...

. In 1966, the "Batllismo" faction of the Colorado Party did not have a natural leader to run for the presidential elections of November of that year, after the death in 1964 of the faction's leader, former President Luis Batlle. Some members of the faction insisted that Abdala should be the presidential candidate representing this sector, including Luis Batlle'son,

Jorge Batlle Jorge Luis Batlle Ibáñez (; ''Batlle'' locally or ; 25 October 1927 – 24 October 2016) was a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, who served as the 38th president of Uruguay from 2000 to 2005. A member of the Colorado Party (Uruguay), Colorado ...

. Ultimately, Abdala refused to run and future President Jorge Batlle was finally selected.

Vice President of Uruguay

After the death of President Óscar Gestido, and the succession to the presidency of Vice President Jorge Pacheco, Alberto Abdala, being the first senator on "Unidad y Reforma" Senate list (the most voted Senate list within the Colorado Party), became Vice President. He diverged from many political decisions taken by the Pacheco administration, without, however, resigning. He considered a run for the Presidency in the 1971 elections, but in the end desisted, not wanting to split Unidad y Reforma, and supported a new bid for the presidency by Jorge Batlle.

Historical note

Abdala was the seventh person to hold the office of

Vice President of Uruguay The vice president of Uruguay is the person with the second highest position in the executive branch of the Uruguayan government, after the President of Uruguay. The vice president replaces the elected President in case of his death or absence. Th ...

. The office dates from 1934, when

Alfredo Navarro Alfredo Navarro (4 May 1868 – 17 May 1951) was a Uruguayan political figure. Background Navarro was a prominent member of the Colorado party in the 1930s. He was a noted medical doctor. Vice President of Uruguay Navarro served as Vice Pres ...

became

's first Vice President.

Subsequent events and legacy

Abdala was succeeded 1972 as

by Jorge Sapelli, whose differences with the Administration in which he served would, unlike Abdala, lead him to repudiate the office of Vice President, and which thus went into abeyance for many years. He is remembered as a quite popular political figure, even though the year after he stepped down the office which he held disappeared for many years. Alberto Abdala died in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

in 1986.

Background

Vice President of Uruguay

Historical note

Subsequent events and legacy

References

See also