Carlos Quintanilla

Carlos Quintanilla Quiroga (22 January 1888 – 8 June 1964) was a Bolivian military officer who served as the 37th president of Bolivia from 1939 to 1940.

Born in Cochabamba, he graduated from the Military Academy of the Army in 1911 and furthered his education and training in Germany, where he served on assignment on several occasions. Discharged in 1923, he rejoined the military in 1926, reaching the rank of brigadier general in 1931, shortly before the outbreak of the Chaco War the following year.

Known for his administrative qualifications, Quintanilla lacked strategic and tactical prowess compared to his opponents. He commanded troops at the Battle of Boquerón, the first major skirmish in the conflict with Paraguay. Following the fall of the outpost, he was relived of command by President Daniel Salamanca and spent the duration of the war in Tarija. He briefly returned to the front after the overthrow of Salamanca in 1934 and took part in the final phase of fighting.

Following the conflict's resolution, Quintanilla remained active in leadership and was part of the old guard of the officer class weary of the post-war reformist tendency dominant among young veterans. Named commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces during the administration of Germán Busch, he moved to purge radical officers from the military's ranks. In the immediate aftermath of Busch's death in office in 1939, Quintanilla seized power in a coup d'état and established a provisional government.

The Quintanilla regime suppressed opposition from radical officers, rescinded a landmark Busch decree regulating the foreign export earnings of mining corporations, and abolished the office of vice president. Under pressure to do so, the government organized snap general elections held in 1940, won by Enrique Peñaranda. After leaving office, he was named ambassador to the Holy See. Retired from public life, Quintanilla died in Cochabamba in 1965.