Guillermo Billinghurst
Guillermo Billinghurst | |
|---|---|
| 37th President of Peru | |
| In office 24 September 1912 – 4 February 1914 | |
| Prime Minister | Elías Malpartida Enrique Varela Vidaurre Federico Luna y Peralta Aurelio Sousa Matute |
| Vice President | Roberto Leguía Miguel Echenique |
| Preceded by | Augusto B. Leguía |
| Succeeded by | Óscar R. Benavides |
| President of the Senate | |
| In office 28 July 1896 – 28 July 1897 | |
| Preceded by | Manuel Pablo Olaechea |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Candamo |
| First Vice President of Peru | |
| In office 8 September 1895 – 8 September 1899 | |
| President | Nicolás de Piérola |
| Preceded by | Vacant (Last held by César Canevaro in 1895) |
| Succeeded by | Isaac Alzamora |
| Senator from Tacna | |
| In office 28 July 1895 – 28 July 1899 | |
| Preceded by | Manuel Pablo Olaechea |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Candamo |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 28 July 1878 – 28 July 1880 | |
| Constituency | Tarapacá Province |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo 27 July 1851 Arica, Peru |
| Died | 28 June 1915 (aged 63) Iquique, Chile |
| Party | Democratic Party of Peru |
| Relatives | Susana Ferrari Billinghurst (cousin) |
| Profession | Entrepreneur |
Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo (27 July 1851 – 28 June 1915) was a Peruvian politician who served as the 37th President of Peru. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía, from 1912 to 1914. An Anglo-Peruvian, Billinghurst's surname is a locational name; Billingshurst is a small town and civil parish in Sussex.
Billinghurst was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party (El Partido Demócrata), whose members primarily representatives of the national bourgeoisie and middle-class in the south of the country, and oriented toward the domestic market. They were opposed by the Civilistas, whose interests were directly or indirectly linked to foreign capital and were typically oriented to the foreign (export) of raw-material commodities. During his presidency, Billinghurst became embroiled in an increasingly bitter series of conflicts with Congress.
A liberal, he proposed and attempted to pass advanced social legislation in favour of the working classes. This was blocked by the conservative and oligarchic factions in the Peruvian Congress. To get around them, Billinghurst attempted to call fresh elections, which prompted these same Conservative factions to call upon the Peruvian military, led by Óscar R. Benavides, to carry out a coup d'état. As a result of the coup, which resulted in Benavides becoming President, Billinghurst was sent into exile in Chile where he died shortly thereafter.