The following are some famous military icons in Bolivia. You can read about more famous Bolivians by visiting our
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General Simón BolivarSimon Bolivar was one of South America's greatest generals. His victories over the Spaniards won independence for Bolivia, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. He is called El Liberator (The Liberator) and the "George Washington of South America."
Read more here...General Hugo Banzer
A military man born in Concepción (Santa Cruz) in 1921. He studied at the local Military School and then in Argentina, and worked as an instructor of the La Paz Military Academy until he was called by the government to be the Minister of Education. In 1971 he led a coup and installed himself as president for seven years, making him the longest-running dictator in Bolivian history. Pressured by the people, he called for elections in 1978 and stepped down. He then founded the Acción Democrática Nacionalista (ADN) political party and was elected president in 1997 making him the only former dictator to have been democratically elected as president. He died of cancer in 2001 while still president.
General Juan José Pérez
A famous military man, born in La Paz in 1814, he was one of the best of his time and the right hand of various Bolivian presidents of the newly independent Republic such as Santa Cruz, Velasco and Ballivián under whom he had served in the wars against Peru. However, his best performance was in the War of the Pacific against Chile. Despite his age, he commanded a division and was killed in combat along with the emblematic “Colorados” Battalion in 1880.
Lieutenant Colonel Germán Busch
Born in San Javier (Santa Cruz) in 1904, he was trained at the local military school. Despite his youth he commanded Bolivian army battalions in the Chaco War and was best known for his actions in the Battle of Boquerón. He was charismatic man and along with a military junta he staged a coup and took the presidency in 1936. However, he called in the National Assembly and was constitutionally elected as president become the second youngest president after president Sucre. He made constitutional reforms that put the government in charge of all natural resources and other reforms to benefit the lower classes. However, he was unable to implement all his plans as he died under mysterious circumstances in his office in 1939. Some say it was suicide, others assassination.
Photo Credit: es.wikipedia.org
