Manuel Pardo

Manuel Justo Pardo y Lavalle (August 9, 1834 – November 16, 1878) was a Peruvian politician and the first civilian President of Peru.

Born into an aristocratic family of Lima, Peru, his father, Felipe Pardo y Aliaga, was a diplomatist and his mother, Petronila de Lavalle y Cabero, daughter of the 2nd Count of Premio Real.

He was educated at four schools: Commercial School of Valparaíso, National Institute of Chile, College of Our Lady of Guadalupe and San Carlos Convictorium. Lavalle studied philosophy at University of Barcelona and economics and literature at the Collège de France.

Lavalle 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 "Mutual Protection Pact" with Bolivia in 1873. 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.

Manuel Pardo (Governor)

Manuel Pardo (1774 -?) was a Spanish soldier who was the Interim Governor of the Province of Texas in 1817 and of Coahuila between 1819 and 1820. He participated in the Texas Revolution as the assistant to the Centralist Troops led by Martín Perfecto de Cos on the Mexican side.

Career

Manuel Pardo was born in 1774, in Santander (Cantabria, Spain). He joined the Spanish Army in his youth and fought in the military campaigns of France (in 1795) and Portugal (1801). In 1802, he fought in the wars of Aranjuez and Madrid (both in the Community of Madrid). Pardo later traveled to New Spain where he joined the army. He was promoted to colonel.

On March 20, 1817, Pardo was appointed Interim Governor of the Province of Texas. Pardo's successor, Antonio María Martínez, claimed the interim Governor had impoverished Texas and depleted military defenses.

In 1819, Pardo was appointed Governor of Coahuila, replacing José Franco. He governed Coahuila until November 25, 1820.

In 1822, Pardo became political chief of Monclova, Coahuila, and, in 1835, in the Texas Revolution, he was assistant of the centralist troops of Martín Perfecto de Cos in Monclova.