Gustavo Baz Prada (31 January 1894 – 12 October 1987) was a Mexican politician and medical doctor. He was

Governor of the State of Mexico The governor of the State of Mexico (Spanish: Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de México) wields executive power in the State of Mexico (a.k.a. Edomex). The Governor of the State of Mexico is directly elected by the citizens, using secret ...

from 1914 to 1915 and from 1957 to 1963.Anzaldo, p. 255.

Life

Baz Prada was born in

Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla de Baz ( Otomi: ) is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlall ...

in 1894, and his family moved to

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

and

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

while he was young but he completed his education in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

. He then went to Mexico's Medical Military College. In 1914 Baz Prada served as a medical doctor treating the troops of

Vicente Navarro Vicente is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Places *São Vicente, Cape Verde, an i ...

. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the forces of Zapata. It was during this time he first served as governor of the state of Mexico. In 1916 he resigned his generalship to continue his medical studies. He completed his studies in 1920 and by 1922 was on the faculty of the military medical school. In 1925 he went to the United States doing further medical studies with

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

, Augustan Hospital in Chicago and also in Rochester, New York. In 1926 and 1927 he went to France, Belgium and Germany, studying at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

among other institutions. In 1935 he was made director of Mexico's National School of Medicine. Baz Prada was head of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM) from 1938 until 1940. From 1940 until 1946 he was Secretary of Health and Welfare for Mexico. During his tenure as governor of Mexico State he brought about the founding of the State University of Mexico. He was appointed to Mexico's Supreme Council of Health in 1965. Baz Prada died in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1987.

References

Sources

Autonomous University of Mexico State bio of Baz Prada
* Anzaldo, . R. V., & Nuño, A. E. (1987). Gustavo Baz: El hombre. México, D.F: V. Anzaldo y Regalado. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baz, Gustavo 1894 births 1987 deaths Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Mexican military doctors Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) Secretaries of health of Mexico Mexican soldiers Governors of the State of Mexico Politicians from the State of Mexico People of the Mexican Revolution Recipients of the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor 20th-century Mexican military personnel 20th-century Mexican physicians 20th-century Mexican politicians