Washington Beltrán Mullin (6 April 1914,

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

– 19 February 2003) was a

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 ...

an political figure.

Background

A journalist by profession, and son of deputy

Washington Beltrán Barbat Washington Beltrán Barbat (February 7, 1885 – April 2, 1920) was a Uruguayan political figure and journalist. Background and career Originally from Tacuarembó, Beltrán moved to Montevideo and became a lawyer and a prolific journalist and w ...

, who was killed in 1920 in a duel with former

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

President José Batlle y Ordóñez, Washington Beltrán was a prominent member of the National (Blanco) Party (for some decades he joined the Independent National Party). He was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1958. From 1961, he also served as co-director of the newspaper

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

, which was founded by his father.

President of the Uruguayan National Council of Government

Elected in 1958 as a member of the National Council of Government, Beltrán presided over that body from 1965 till 1966, succeeding

Luis Giannattasio Luis Giannattasio Finocchietti (19 November 1894 – 7 February 1965) was a Uruguayan political figure. Background Giannattasio was an engineer by profession and a leading member of the Uruguayan Blanco (National) Party. From 1959 to 1963, h ...

who had died in office shortly after attending in official capacity the funeral of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

Post presidency

In 1966, Beltrán was succeeded as President by

Alberto Héber Usher Alberto Héber Usher (May 1, 1918 – January 19, 1981) was a Uruguayan politician, who served as President of Uruguay from March 1, 1966, to March 1, 1967. Background Héber was born in Montevideo. His parents were Blanca Usher Conde and Alb ...

. He was re-elected to the senate in 1966, and retired from politics following the coup by Juan María Bordaberry. In 1987 he was appointed Ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. The rivalry between the Uruguayan Blanco and Colorado parties was a feature of the country's history for more than a century, and, indeed, an intense part of Beltrán's family history. However, in the second round of the 1999 elections, the Blanco Beltrán publicly supported Colorado

Jorge Batlle Ibáñez Jorge Luis Batlle Ibáñez (; ''Batlle'' locally or ; 25 October 1927 – 24 October 2016) was a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, and a member of the Colorado Party. He served as the President of Uruguay from 2000 to 2005. Dr. Jorge Batlle ...

for the presidency against Tabaré Vazquez.

Death

Beltrán died on 19 February 2003. He is buried at the

Central Cemetery of Montevideo The Central Cemetery (Spanish: ''Cementerio central'') of Barrio Sur, Montevideo, is one of the main cemeteries in Uruguay. It also ranks amongst the most popular in the country, given that most famous Uruguayan people are buried there. It is l ...

References

External links