Manuel González de Candamo e Iriarte (July 14, 1841 – May 7, 1904) served as the 33rd

President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...

from 1903 until his death in 1904. He also served as Interim President of Peru, officially as the President of the Government Junta, from September 8, 1903, until his death the following year.

Early life and family

Born in a wealthy family, Manuel was the son of Pedro González de Candamo e Astorga (Puerto de Valparaiso,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, June 30, 1799 –

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, January 22, 1866), Peruvian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

– then the richest man in Peru – and wife María de las Mercedes Iriarte e Odria;Political Culture in Nineteenth-century Peru: The Rise of the Partido Civil
/ref> paternal grandson of Alfonso González de Candamo y Prieto (born in

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

the son of Gaspar González de Candamo and wife Eulalia Prieto) and wife Petronila de Astorga y Urizar (born in Valparaiso,

) and maternal grandson of Pedro Ignacio Iriarte y Velasco-Patiño, mine owner from Huancayo, who bought the

Hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

Lobatón in 1819 and half of the Hacienda Cónsac, and wife Paula Odria y Granados, daughter of the owners of Hacienda Rumichaca Juan Ignacio Odria and wife Manuela Granados, sister of Marcelo Granados (La Asunción de Mito, 1758 – ?),

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

of La Trinidad de Huancayo. Manuel Candamo spend his early years in the College of Our Lady of Guadalupe. After graduating from high school, he was accepted in the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public university, public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established (Privilege (legal ethics), privilege by Charles V, ...

, where he obtained a bachelor's degree on

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

Early political career

Pezet and the Chinchan Islands War

In 1863, Cándamo started to work for " El Comercio", one of the oldest newspapers in the capital. From there, he was a harsh critic of President

Juan Antonio Pezet Juan Antonio Pezet y Rodríguez de la Piedra (11 June 1809 – 24 March 1879) was a Peruvian military officer and politician who served in the positions of Secretary of War, First Vice President and the 16th President of Peru. As President ...

and the "Vivanco-Pareja Treaty", specifically for the way of how the government was handling the diplomatic crisis with Spain. For his actions, he was exiled to Chile, returning only after

Mariano Ignacio Prado Mariano Ignacio Prado Ochoa (18 December 1825 – 5 May 1901) was a Peruvian army general who served as the 17th (1865 - 1868) and 21st (1876 - 1879) President of Peru. Biography Born in Huánuco on 18 December 1825, he studied in Huánuco and ...

's successfully launched a coup against Pezet. After the revolution, he was an active supporter of Prado during the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War (), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The conflict began with Spain's seiz ...

. When the Peruvian Congress refused to recognize Prado's government, Cándamo traveled to Chile as part of the Peruvian diplomatic mission. He did not stay on

, and left that country for Europe and Asia.

Civilista Party

Manuel Cándamo, together with Manuel Pardo, was among the founding members of the Civilista Party. The party itself achieved public notoriety for being the first organized political party in Peru, and because it was also the first one to be composed primarily of civilians. During this period, Cándamo successfully started once again his political career and several economic businesses.

War of the Pacific and Reconstruction

After the collapse of the Peruvian Southern Armies and the imminent invasion of

, Cándamo took part in the defense of the city, fighting in the Battles of San Juan and Miraflores. When the city is occupied by the Chilean Army, Cándamo and several other prominent politicians are deported to Chile due to their opposition to any peace proposal that involved ceding Tarapacá,

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

and

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

to the Chileans. Candamo returned to Peru after the Treaty of Ancón was signed and the war over, and is once again deported for his opposition to President Miguel Iglesias and support to Andrés Avelino Cáceres. Once Iglesias is overthrown and Cáceres is in power, Candamo was elected to the Senate, reaching its

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

in 1888, 1890 and 1892.

Later political career

President of the Junta

A member of the Civilista Party, Candamo served as mayor of

. After Andrés Avelino Cáceres was forced to resign from the Presidency in 1894, Candamo was selected to head a "Provisional Government Junta" and to call for new elections.

Nicolás de Piérola José Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena (known as "''El Califa''" ("The Caliph"); January 5, 1839 – June 23, 1913) was a Peruvian politician and Minister of Finance of Peru, Minister of Finance who served as the 23rd (1879 ...

, allied with the Civilista Party, won the election.

President of the Senate

During the administration of Eduardo López de Romaña, he was elected President of the Peruvian Senate (both 1897 and 1901). This was done after the Civilista and Democratic parties reached a compromise and divided their political influence in the government. For the Election of 1903, Cándamo was regarded as a moderate candidate and the more trusted political figure in the Civilista Party. After being elected president, Cándamo became ill and died in office. He was married to Teresa Alvarez-Calderón. Following a brief interim government headed by

Serapio Calderón Serapio Calderón Lasso de la Vega (September 14, 1843 – April 3, 1922) served as Interim President of Peru, officially as the President of the Government Junta, from May 7, 1904 to September 24, 1904. Calderón was born in Paucartambo (Cusco ...

, Cándamo was succeeded by his foreign minister José Pardo.

Personal life

Manuel Candamo married Teresa Álvarez-Calderón, and had two daughters. One daughter, Teresa De La Cruz, founded the convent Canonesas de La Cruz, and was given the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

in 1981 by the Catholic Church, which means she is being considered for possible

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

hood. He was the brother-in-law of Anglo-Peruvian

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

millionaire John Pablo Bryce, and thus a great-great uncle

Alexandra Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn Alexandra Anastasia Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn, (''née'' Phillips; 27 February 1946 – 10 December 2018), usually known by family and friends as Sacha Abercorn, was a British peeress and philanthropist. She was the wife of James Hamilton, ...

, and

Natalia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster Natalia Ayesha Grosvenor, Dowager Duchess of Westminster (''née'' Phillips; born 8 May 1959), is a British aristocrat, philanthropist and winemaker. She is the widow of the 6th Duke of Westminster and mother of the 7th Duke. As of 2024, the D ...

, as well as a great uncle of Janet Mercedes Bryce, Marchioness of Milford Haven, wife of David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven. He was the great-uncle of Clotilde de Silva y Gonzáles de Candamo (July 19, 1898 – December 12, 1978), daughter of the 10th Marquis de Arcicóllar, second wife of Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg, Prince of Pless, and after divorce the wife of Hans Heinrich XV's son Bolko, with two children by each husband.