José María Medina Castejón (8 September 1826 – 1878) served as the

President of Honduras The president of Honduras ( es, Presidente de Honduras) officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: ''Presidente de la República de Honduras''), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Com ...

three times during the 1860s and 1870s. Medina was born in Sensenti. While his father is not known, his mother's name was Antonia Medina Castejón.

Military service

At the age of 18 Medina joined the Honduran army, and in the same year of 1844 fought in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

as a junior officer against William Walker's attempts to conquer Central America. In 1850 José was appointed the Commander of Arms in

Omoa Omoa is a town, with a population of 7,020 (2013 census), and a municipality in the Department of Cortés in Honduras. Omoa is located on a small bay of the same name 18 km west of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea coast. Geography O ...

. He assisted General Juan López's rebellion against General Cabañas Fiallos in 1855 and in the same year was defeated by General

Mariano Álvarez Mariano M. Álvarez ( : March 15, 1818 – August 25, 1924) was a Filipino revolutionary and statesman. Pre-war life Álvarez was born in Noveleta, Cavite. He received formal schooling at the San José College in Manila, and obtained a tea ...

at Siguatepeque. He served as an Official member of the Central American Joint Chiefs of Staff from July 1856 to May 1857.

Presidency

His first term in office was served as a temporary Acting President between 1 September and 31 December 1863. Medina was then elected President in 1864.Honduras, 26 March 1870: José María Medina remaining President
Direct Democracy According to the 1848 constitution he was eligible for a second term in office. However, in 1865 he convened a Constitutional Convention, which adopted a new constitution on 18 September. This restricted the President to a single term in office, as well as making the National Congress

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

. The Convention made Medina the provisional President, which was confirmed in a December 1865 election. In order to win a second term after the adoption of the new constitution. He convened a new Convention, which approved the changes to the constitution and also elected him President for a second term. However, following protests, he held a referendum on the issue, which was approved by over 95% of voters. However, on 26 July 1872 he was ousted from power after a revolt by the Liberals. He provisionally served a third time between 12 and 27 August 1876, and was later arrested for treason and executed by firing squad in 1878 in Santa Rosa de Copán.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medina Castejon, Jose Maria 1826 births 1878 deaths People from Ocotepeque Department Honduran people of Spanish descent Presidents of Honduras Executed Honduran people