Andrés Avelino Cáceres

Andrés Avelino Cáceres Dorregaray (November 10, 1836 – October 10, 1923) was three times President of Peru during the 19th century, from 1884 to 1885, then from 1886 to 1890, and again from 1894 to 1895. In Peru, he is considered a national hero for leading the resistance to Chilean occupation during the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), where he fought as a General in the Peruvian Army.

Early years

Andrés Avelino Cáceres was born on November 10, 1836, in the city of Ayacucho. His father, Don Domingo Cáceres y Ore, was a landowner and his mother, Justa Dorregaray Cueva, daughter of the Spanish colonel Demetrio Dorregaray. He was mestizo; one of his maternal ancestors was Catalina Wanka, an Incaica-Wanka princess. He studied at the Colegio San Ramón (Spanish: San Ramón School) in his hometown.

Military career

In 1854, Cáceres abandoned his studies and joined the Ayacucho Battalion as a cadet. As part of this unit, he participated in the rebellion led by General Ramón Castilla against President José Rufino Echenique, which ended with the victory of the former at the Battle of La Palma (January 5, 1855).