Antonio José de Irisarri Alonso (; February 7, 1786 – June 10, 1868), was a

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n statesman, journalist, and politician who served as Interim Supreme Director of Chile in 1814. He is considered one of the fathers of Chilean journalism together with Fr.

Camilo Henríquez Friar José Camilo Henríquez González (; July 29, 1769 in Valdivia, Chile – March 16, 1825 in Santiago de Chile) was a priest, author, politician, and is considered an intellectual antecedent to and founding father of the Republic of Chile ...

. Irisarri was born in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

, the son of Juan Bautista de Irisarri and of María de la Paz Alonso. He studied in his native city and in Europe, from whence he was recalled back to his home after the death of his father in 1805. In 1809 he visited Chile, and having married Mercedes Trucíos y Larraín, an heiress there, took up his residence in that country and joined with enthusiasm the movement for independence in 1810. He had charge of important public offices during the struggle for liberty, including the command of the National guard and the civil and military government of the province of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, and from March 7 to 14, 1814, he was temporarily in charge of the supreme direction of the nation. In 1818 he was appointed Minister of Government and Foreign Affairs by

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Althou ...

, and in October of the same year he went to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

as minister. At the end of 1819 he was sent to Europe to negotiate the recognition of Chilean Independence by England and France (which he was not able to obtain.) While at London he negotiated a loan of £1,000,000 (the first foreign debt of Chile.) He was sent to Central America in 1827 as minister for Chile, and in 1837 as plenipotentiary to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and private adviser to Admiral Manuel Blanco during the

War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation ( es, Guerra de la Confederación) was a military confrontation waged by Chile, along with Peruvian dissidents, and the Argentine Confederation against the Peru–Bolivian Confederation between 1836 and 1839. As ...

. After the Chilean army was forced to sign the

Treaty of Paucarpata The War of the Confederation ( es, Guerra de la Confederación) was a military confrontation waged by Chile, along with Peruvian dissidents, and the Argentine Confederation against the Peru–Bolivian Confederation between 1836 and 1839. As ...

on November 17, 1837, the scandal was gigantic. Irisarri refused to return to Chile, was tried ''in absentia'' for high treason, and sentence to death. Irisarri wisely never returned to Chile. He was minister of Guatemala and Salvador to

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

from 1839 till 1845, and in 1846–1848 to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, but resigned, and went to

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

in 1849, and in 1850 to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he resided till his death. The governments of Guatemala and Salvador appointed him, in 1855, their minister to Washington, and for a long time he was dean of the diplomatic corps. Irisarri continued his literary work in the United States, and was generally esteemed for his knowledge, genial character, and polished manners. Irisarri was chief editor of the ''Semanario Republicano de Chile'' in Santiago in 1813; of ''El Duende'' in the same city in 1818; of ''El Censor Americano'' in London in 1820; of ''El Guatemalteco'' in Guatemala in 1828; of "La Verdad desnuda," "La Balanza," and "El Correo" in Guayaquil in 1839–1843; of "La Concordia" in Quito in 1844–1845; of" Nosotros," "Orden y Libertad," and "El Cristiano Errante" in Bogota in 1846–1847; and of "El Revisor" in Curaçao in 1849, the publication of which he continued in New York. He also published "La defensa de la historia critica del asesinato cometido en la persona del Gran Mariseal de Ayacucho" (Quito, 1845); "Memoria biografica del Arzobispo Mosquera" (Bogota, 1848); a collection of his satirical poems, a novel, "Cuestiones Filologicas," and several pamphlets. He died in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, on June 10, 1868. In 1973 Guatemala honoured him with the institution of an "

Order of Antonio José de Irisarri The Order of Antonio José de Irisarri (Spanish: Orden "Antonio José de Irisarri") was founded in 1973 by the government of Guatemala. It was named in honour of the statesman and writer Antonio José de Irisarri. The order has five classes. * ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:de Irisarri, Antonio José 1786 births 1868 deaths People from Guatemala City Guatemalan people of Basque descent Naturalized citizens of Chile Supreme Directors of Chile Heads of state of Chile Chilean Ministers of the Interior Foreign ministers of Chile People of the Chilean War of Independence People of the War of the Confederation Guatemalan diplomats Guatemalan journalists Chilean diplomats Chilean journalists Male journalists People sentenced to death in absentia People convicted of treason Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni Ambassadors of Chile to Peru Ambassadors of Guatemala to the United States Ambassadors of Guatemala to Colombia Ambassadors of Guatemala to Ecuador Ambassadors of Guatemala to Argentina Chilean colonels

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