Tomás Romero Pereira (4 October 1886 – 12 August 1982) was a Paraguayan architect and politician who served as President of Paraguay from May to August of 1954. He was installed as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...

after the coup of 4 May against President

Federico Chaves Federico Chaves Careaga (February 15, 1882 – April 24, 1978) was a Paraguayan politician and soldier who served as President of Paraguay from September 10, 1949, to May 4, 1954. He was a member of the Colorado Party. Early life Chaves was ...

. Romero Pereira quickly held

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

, which fraudulently elected Stroessner president.

Early life

Tomás Romero Pereira was born on 4 October 1886 in Encarnación,

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, to Emilio Romero and Isabel Pereira. He had three sisters: Rosa Isabel, Josefa, and Sandalia; and two brothers: Emilio and Cayo. Romero Pereira became an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, one of the first professionally trained ones in Paraguay. One of his works is the

frontispiece Frontispiece may refer to: * Frontispiece (books), a decorative illustration facing a book's title page * Frontispiece (architecture) In architecture, the term frontispiece is used to describe the Façade, principal face of the building, usually ...

of the Oratory of the Virgin of the Assumption in Asunción. He married Lilia Isabel Arza. They had five daughters: Rosa Isabel, Marta, Lilia, María Cristina and Susana; and one son: Carlos Francisco.

Presidency (1954)

He was a member of the Colorado Party. He came to power as a result of a military coup, led by General

, which began on 4 May 1954 and lasted for three days. As a compromise between the military who led the coup and the Colorado Party who was in power, he formally took office on 8 May 1954. An election was held on 11 July 1954, with Stroessner as the sole candidate. His Cabinet was composed of: * Minister of the Interior: Gustavo Storm * Minister of the Treasury: Carlos Velilla * Minister of Education: Luis Martínez Miltos * Minister of National Defense: Herminio Morínigo * Minister of Foreign Relations: Hipólito Sánchez Quell * Minister of Public Health and Social Prevision: Enrique Zacarías Arza * Minister of Public Works and Communications: Marcial Samaniego * Minister of Agriculture and Livestock: Alejandro Gaona * Minister of Industry and Commerce: César Barrientos * Minister of Justice and Work: Fabio Da Silva On 15 August 1954, Romero Pereira handed over the presidency to Alfredo Stroessner who then became the dictator of Paraguay for 35 years. Afterwards, he held various ministerial posts under Stroessner, including head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, until in 1956 he was replaced by

Edgar Ynsfrán Edgar Linneo Ynsfrán Doldán (December 9, 1921 – November 2, 1991) was a Paraguayan politician who held important governmental posts during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. He became Minister of the Interior in Paraguay in 1956, and held ...

Death

He died on 12 August 1982 at the age of 95.

References

1886 births 1982 deaths National University of La Plata alumni Paraguayan architects People from Encarnación, Paraguay 20th-century presidents of Paraguay Colorado Party (Paraguay) politicians {{Paraguay-architect-stub