José Pardo y Barreda

Who was José Pardo y Barreda?

José Simón Pardo y Barreda was a Peruvian politician who twice occupied the Presidency of Peru, from 1904 to 1908 and 1915 to 1919.

Born in Lima, Peru, he was the son of Manuel Justo Pardo y Lavalle, who had been the first civilian president of Peru and the founder the Civilista Party; he is one of two second-generation Peruvian presidents. His grandfather, Felipe Pardo y Aliaga, was a distinguished diplomat, writer and politician who was also Foreign Minister and Vice President of the Peruvian Council of State before, during and after the presidencies of Vivanco and Castilla.

José Pardo headed the Civilista Party and was Foreign Minister under Eduardo López de Romaña and then Prime Minister under Manuel Candamo. After Candamo's death, Serapio Calderón became the interim president and called for new elections. The Civilista Party named José Pardo as its candidate, while the Democratic Party presented the candidacy of Nicolás de Piérola, who retired early before the elections mentioning a "lack of guarantees." This fact led Pardo to become elected. Both his presidential terms were marked by liberal politics.