Mariano Ignacio Prado
Interim President of Peru
In office April 25 1865 – June 24 1865
Preceded by	Juan Antonio Pezet
Succeeded by	Juan Antonio Pezet
18th President of Peru
In office November 28 1865 – January 7 1868
Preceded by	Pedro Diez Canseco
Succeeded by	Pedro Diez Canseco
21st President of Peru
In office August 2 1876 – December 23 1879
Preceded by	Manuel Pardo
Succeeded by	Nicolás de Piérola
Born	1826
Died	1901
Profession	Army General

Mariano Ignacio Prado (1826 – 1901) was twice the President of Peru, from 1865 to 1868 and 1876 to 1879). Born in Huánuco in 1826, he entered the army at an early age and served in the provinces of Southern Peru.

After a coup which overthrew Juan Antonio Pezet's government, Prado assumed the dictatorship of the country in 1865. He only served in that position for two months, leaving Pedro Diez Canseco as a provisional president for less than a month. Prado's intentions were to participate in that year's elections which, surprisingly, he won. He successfully defended Peru against Spanish aggression at the Battle of Callao on May 2, 1866. His first presidency lasted until 1868 when he had to resign under pressure from the Peruvian Congress.

After Manuel Pardo's presidential term ended in 1876, Prado was elected president again on August 2 of that year. His second term was marked with the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) which broke out with Chile. Prado took active measures to prepare for defence by leaving for Tacna and later Tarapaca (where he met Bolivian president Hilarión Daza), with the intention of taking command of the armies assembling there. He assessed Peru was not ready for the war and decided to go back to Lima to prepare and send back new reinforcements.

In the course of these deliberations, Prado left his vice-president La Puerta in charge and decided to leave for Europe to buy more armament and obtain more money for the war. Prado wrote a manifesto to the nation explaining the difficulties of the war and that those "circumstances forced him to leave the country to acquire armament to defend the honor of the Homeland." Many Peruvians took this as a coward act and excuse for his inability to govern in the middle of the war, which led Nicolás de Piérola to stage a successful coup d'etat and later declared himself commander-in-chief in December 23, 1879. Prado did not return to Peru until the end of the war.

He later moved back to Europe and died in Paris, France in 1901.

See also

• Politics of Peru
• List of Presidents of Peru

References

Presidents of Peru

San Martín · Luna Pizarro · La Mar · Bernardo de Tagle · Riva Agüero · Sucre · Bernardo de Tagle · Bolívar · Santa Cruz · Salazar y Baquíjano · La Mar · Gutiérrez de la Fuente · Gamarra · Luna Pizarro · Orbegoso · Bermúdez · Salaverry · Santa Cruz · Gamarra · Menéndez · Torrico · Vidal · Figuerola · Vivanco · Nieto · Castilla · Elías · Menéndez · Figuerola · Menéndez · Castilla · Echenique · Castilla · San Román · Castilla · P. Diez Canseco · Pezet · Prado · Pezet · P. Diez Canseco · Prado · P. Diez Canseco · Balta · Gutiérrez · F. Diez Canseco · Zevallos · Pardo · Prado · Piérola · García Calderón · Montero · Cáceres · Iglesias · Arenas · Cáceres · Morales Bermúdez · Borgoño · Cáceres · Candamo · Piérola · Romaña · Candamo · S. Calderón · Pardo y Barreda · Leguía  · Billinghurst · Benavides · Pardo y Barreda · Leguía  · Ponce · Sánchez Cerro · Elías Arias · Jiménez · Samanez Ocampo · Sánchez Cerro · Benavides · Prado Ugarteche · Bustamante y Rivero · Odría · Noriega · Odría · Prado Ugarteche · Pérez Godoy · Lindley · Belaúnde · Velasco · Morales Bermúdez · Belaúnde · García · Fujimori · Paniagua · Toledo · García

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