Venancio Víctor López Otazú (21 February 1862 – 11 August 1927) was a Paraguayan journalist, diplomat and professor of law. He was a grandson of Carlos Antonio López, who was the leader of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

between 1841 and 1862, and nephew of Francisco Solano López, president of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870.

Biography

Early life and studies

Venancio was born in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

in 1862, to Venancio López Carrillo and Manuela Otazú Machaín. His father Venancio was Carlos Antonio López's son, and Francisco Solano López's brother; between them, the last two were

's heads of state between 1841 and 1870. In 1864, the

Triple Alliance War The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...

started, pitting Paraguay versus the much larger and populous nations of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and, from 1865 onwards,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The conflict was mostly fought on Paraguayan soil and led to great destruction for the country; it ended in 1870, but the foreign occupation lasted until 1876, when the final border agreement with Argentina was signed. His father Venancio died during the war. In the conflict's aftermath, his mother Manuela took him and his brothers, Ercilia and Carlos, 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 ...

, where he was educated, eventually becoming a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

through the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

Return to Asunción

Coming back to Paraguay in the late 1890s, he ended up marrying ex-president

Higinio Uriarte José Higinio Uriarte y García del Barrio (11 January 1843 in Asunción – 21 April 1909) was a Paraguayan politician and President from April 12, 1877 to November 25, 1878. He was Juan Bautista Gill's cousin. He served as President of the Ch ...

's daughter, María del Carmen Uriarte Velilla; when she died, he remarried, taking as his spouse Victorina Viera. He joined the Colorado Party soon after returning; it concentrated most of those who had been on Solano López' side during the war. During

Juan Gualberto González Juan Gualberto González (July 12, 1851 – July 30, 1912) was the President of Paraguay and served from 1890 until his forced resignation in 1894. His life Juan Gualberto González was born in Asunción on July 12, 1851. He married with tea ...

's government, he was named

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

, a position he held between 1890 and 1894; he also had held a seat in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

between 1887 and 1888, and taught in the

Universidad Nacional de Asunción The Universidad Nacional de Asunción or Mbo'ehaovusu Tetãgua Paraguaygua, abbreviated UNA, anglicized as, The National University of Asuncion, is a public university founded in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Founded in 1889, it is the oldest and most t ...

. Briefly, in 1899, he was made Minister of Justice, Religion and Education in

Emilio Aceval Emilio Aceval Marín (October 16, 1853 – April 15, 1931) was President of Paraguay from 1898 to 1902. He was a member of the Colorado Party. Biography Aceval's parents were Don Leonardo Aceval and Ms Monica Marin. He studied under Fidel Maíz ...

's cabinet.

Later life and death

He died in 1927 in Buenos Aires.

References

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Venancio Victor 1862 births 1927 deaths Paraguayan judges People from Asunción Foreign ministers of Paraguay Academic staff of Universidad Nacional de Asunción