Manuel Pardo (politician)

Manuel Justo Pardo y Lavalle (9 August 1834 – 16 November 1878) was a Peruvian politician who served as the 20th President of Peru. He was the first civilian President in Peru's history.

Biography
Born into an aristocratic family of Lima, Peru, Pardo was the son of Felipe Pardo y Aliaga and Petronila de Lavalle y Cabero. His father was a writer and diplomat who was a grandchild of the Marquises of Fuentehermosa. His mother was a daughther of the 2nd Count of Premio Real and a sister of politician Juan Bautista de Lavalle.

He spent his early years in Chile where his father served succesively as Minister Plenipotentiary for the governments of Felipe Santiago Salaverry and Ramón Castilla. Pardo received his early education at the Commercial School of Valparaíso and the National Institute of Chile. Upon his return to Lima, he attended the prestigious College of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the San Carlos Convictorium.

Pardo y Lavalle then studied philosophy and letters at the University of Barcelona, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in 1850. Next year, he settled down in Paris and attended the Collège de France, where he studied literature and economy under Philarète Chasles and Michel Chevalier.

Pardo was Minister of Finance from 1865 to 1867. He was director of Public-Benefit Society of Lima (1868) and Mayor of Lima (1869–1870). On 24 April 1871, he founded the Civilista Party, the most important political party of the Aristocratic Republic. He was elected president by the Peruvian Congress after a failed coup launched by colonel Tomás Gutierrez.

One of the most controversial acts committed during his presidency was the signing of a Treaty of Defensive Alliance with Bolivia. The objective of this pact was to protect themselves from what they perceived as "Chilean imperialism" and a growing desire of Chile for the allied provinces of Tarapacá and Litoral.

On 16 November 1878, Manuel Pardo, President of the Senate, was assassinated by gunshot.

His sons were José Simón Pardo y Barreda, Prime-Minister and also President of Peru, Felipe Pardo y Barreda, V Marquis of Fuente Hermosa de Miranda, and Juan Pardo y Barreda, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Peru.

His sister, Mariana Pardo y Lavalle, married José Antonio de Lavalle, with whom she had children, including José Antonio and Hernando.