Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón (March 2, 1905 in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

– March 1, 1981) was the

President of Panama This article lists the heads of state of Panama since the short-lived first independence from the Republic of New Granada in 1840 and the final separation from Colombia in 1903. Free State of the Isthmus (1840–1841) Republic of Panama (1 ...

in 1949 and from 1960 to 1964. He belonged to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Before being president

He was president of the Chamber of Commerce. He worked in the sugar company of his family with his father

Rodolfo Chiari Rodolfo Chiari Robles (November 15, 1869 in Aguadulce – August 16, 1937 in Monrovia, California) was a Panamanian politician of the National Liberal Party. Chiari was the general manager of National Bank of Panama from 1909 to 1914. He ...

and brothers. He was the only one of his brothers that was interested on politics. He was elected to the National Assembly on 1940. During the Ricardo de la Guardia administration he was Minister of Health and Public Works. He was one of Domingo Díaz Arosemena's

vice presidents A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

and briefly served as acting president in 1949. He lost the presidential elections of 1952. He was president of his Liberal Party for the next 8 years.

1960 election

He was elected in a clean and peaceful election. He was campaigning against former president Ricardo Arias and Victor Goytia.

Administration

His government worked hard on the education sector. The General Hospital of the Social Security was inaugurated and an extensive vaccination program was developed. His administration is most remembered for the historic events of January 9, 1964, known today as

Martyrs' Day Martyrs' Day is an annual day observed by nations to salute the martyrdom of soldiers who lost their lives defending the sovereignty of the nation. The actual date may vary from one country to another. Here is a list of countries and Martyrs' Days. ...

. During a dispute between Panamanian and American students regarding the right to raise the Panamanian flag instead of the U.S. flag at Balboa High School the Panamanian flag was accidentally torn. This

flag desecration Flag desecration is the desecration of a flag, violation of flag protocol, or various acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public. In the case of a national flag, such action is often intended to make a political poin ...

sparked four days of fighting between civilians and the US Army. 22 Panamanians and four Americans died. Following these events, Chiari made the decision to break diplomatic relations with 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 territori ...

, making

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

the first Latin American country to make this call. This spurred negotiations that ultimately ended in the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which disbanded the

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terri ...

and relinquished U.S. control of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

on December 31, 1999. Because of this, Chiari is known as ''el presidente de la dignidad'' (The President of Dignity).

Post-presidency

After leaving office, he retired from public life and he returned to work in his private companies. He was president of the ''Industrial Sindicate'' from 1967 to 1969.

References

External links

* ''"55 mandatarios" (55 presidents).'' History Album of the Panamanian newspaper ''La Prensa''. Page 62–64. * http://robert-mimundo.blogspot.com/2016/03/recordando-al-presidente-de-la-dignidad.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiari Remon, Roberto Francisco 1905 births 1981 deaths People from Panama City Panamanian people of Italian descent Presidents of Panama Vice presidents of Panama National Liberal Party (Panama) politicians Children of national leaders