Emilio Aceval

Emilio Aceval Marín (October 16, 1853 – April 15, 1931) was President of Paraguay from 1898 to 1902. He was a member of the Colorado Party.

Biography
Aceval's parents were Don Leonardo Aceval and Monica Marín. He studied under Fidel Maíz. Upon the outbreak of the war against the Triple Alliance, he joined the Army at age 13 as a child soldier. He was injured at Pirayú and then fought at Acosta Ñu, where he served as a sergeant major. Days later, he was taken prisoner in the battle of Curuguaty.

Upon the end of the war, Aceval moved with his relatives to Corrientes and then to Buenos Aires, where he resumed his studies at National Central College. He studied engineering in the postwar period, but had to stop because of a serious illness. After his recovery, he made a long trip through Europe and the United States, returning in 1881, and became a landowner and farmer. He also served as Minister of Finance and was War and Navy Minister during the government of General Egusquiza, and was a member of the Colorado Party.

Presidency
He was President of the Republic from November 25, 1898 to January 9, 1902. His cabinet was formed by: José P. Urdapilleta, Finance; José Segundo Decoud in Foreign Affairs, Guillermo de los Rios in the Interior; Jose Zacarias Caminos, Venancio Víctor López, Geronimo Pereira Cazal, and Pedro Jose Tomas Bobadilla, Justice, Worship and Public Instruction, and Colonel Juan Antonio Escurra in War and Navy.

During the government of President Aceval, the National Council on Education, the Directorate General of Schools, and the National Council of Hygiene were created, as well as an Internal Revenue Service, and settled colonies of immigrants, especially Italians. Paraguay also participated in the International Exhibition of Philadelphia during Aceval's presidency, and went through an epidemic of bubonic plague, which led to the creation of the Bacteriological Office.

A relapse in the political situation caused serious conflicts that were reflected in Congress. On January 9, 1902, a military revolutionary committee forced Aceval to resign. Congress decided to appoint as his replacement then vice president, Don Hector Carballo.

He died in Asuncion on April 15, 1931.