This article contains a list of heads of state 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 t ...

, since the beginning of the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

(1811) to the present day.

Background

After Paraguay proclaimed independence from the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called " Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, i ...

, its first effective head of state was utopist

José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco () (6 January 1766 – 20 September 1840) was a Paraguayan lawyer and politician, and the first dictator (1814–1840) of Paraguay following its 1811 independence from the Spanish Viceroyalty of ...

, who ruled the country from 1814 until his death in 1840, with very little outside contact or influence. Since the establishment of the office of President of the Republic in 1844, during the family dictatorship of the López family (1841–1870), Paraguay had 51 presidents. Between the end of the

Paraguayan 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 ...

in 1870 and the 1954 coup d'état, the country changed 44 presidents; 24 of them were removed from power by force. Eventually,

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989. Stroessner led a coup d'état on 4 May 1954 with t ...

, supported by the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

Colorado Party, seized power in the 1954 coup d'état. Relying on the military and the party as the "twin pillars" of his rule, and ruling in the single-party system until 1962, Stroessner was elected for eight consecutive terms before being ousted from power in the 1989 coup d'état. His 35-year-long rule was one of the longest in history by a non-royal leader.

Non-presidential heads of state (1811–1844)

Presidents (1844–present)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1200 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:3 bottom:150 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1810 till:2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1810 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1810 Colors = id:none value:rgb(0.83,0.83,0.83) legend:None id:colorado value:rgb(1,0,0) legend:ANR-Colorado id:liberal value:rgb(0,0,1) legend:Liberal id:alianza value:rgb(0.86,0.08,0.24) legend:Patriotic_Alliance_for_Change id:guasu value:rgb(0.93,0.51,0.93) legend:Guasú_Front id:plra value:rgb(0,0,1) legend:Authentic_Radical_Liberal_Party Legend = columns:4 left:200 top:100 columnwidth:230 TextData = pos:(20,100) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Political parties:" BarData = bar:BernardodeVelasco bar:JoseGaspardeRodriguezdeFrancia bar:JuanValerianodeZevallos bar:FulgencioYegros bar:ManuelAntonioOrtiz bar:JuanJoseMedina bar:JoseGabrielBenitez bar:JoseCampos bar:MarianoRoqueAlonzo bar:CarlosAntonioLopez bar:FranciscoSolanoLopez bar:CiriloAntonioRivarola bar:CarlosLoizaga bar:JoseDiazdeBedoya bar:FacundoMachain bar:SalvadorJovellanos bar:JuanBautistaGill bar:HiginioUriarte bar:CandidoBareiro bar:BernardinoCabalero bar:PatricioEscobar bar:JuanGualbertoGonzalez bar:MarcosMoringo bar:JuanBautistaEsgusquiza bar:EmilioAceval bar:AndresHectorCarvallo bar:JuanAntonioEscurra bar:JuanBautistaGaona bar:CecilioBaez bar:BenignoFerreira bar:EmilianoGonzalesNavero bar:ManuelGondra bar:AlbinoJara bar:LiberatoMarcialRojas bar:MarcosCaballeroCodas bar:MarioUscher bar:AlfredoAponte bar:PedroPabloPena bar:EduardoSchaerer bar:ManuelFranco bar:JosePedroMontero bar:ManuelGondra bar:FelixPaiva bar:EusebioAyala bar:EligioAyala bar:LuisAlbertoRiart bar:JosePatricioGuggiari bar:RafaelFranco bar:JoseFelixEstigarribia bar:HiginioMorinigo bar:JuanManuelFrutos bar:JuanNatalicioGonzalez bar:RaimundoRolon bar:FelipeMolasLopez bar:FedericoChaves bar:TomasRomeroPereira bar:AlfredoStroessner bar:AndresRodrigues bar:JuanCarlosWasmosy bar:RaulCubas bar:LuisAngelGonzalesMacchi bar:NicanorDuarte bar:FernandoLugo bar:FedericoFranco bar:HoracioCartes bar:MarioAbdoBenitez PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:BernardodeVelasco from: 1811 till: 1811 color:none text:"

Bernardo de Velasco Bernardo Luis de Velasco y Huidobro (20 August 1742 – ) was a figure in the Spanish American wars of independence, the last Spanish governor of Paraguay and a commander of royalist military forces in the war. He was deposed by the congress cele ...

" bar:JoseGaspardeRodriguezdeFrancia from: 1811 till: 1811 color:none from: 1813 till: 1814 color:none from: 1814 till: 1840 color:none text:"

" bar:JuanValerianodeZevallos from: 1811 till: 1811 color:none text:"

Juan Valeriano de Zevallos ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanis ...

" bar:FulgencioYegros from: 1811 till: 1813 color:none from: 1814 till: 1814 color:none text:"

Fulgencio Yegros Fulgencio Yegros y Franco de Torres (born 1780 in Quyquyhó, died 1821) was Paraguayan soldier and first head of state of independent Paraguay. The town of Yegros is named in his honor. Life Yegros was born to a family of military traditio ...

" bar:ManuelAntonioOrtiz from: 1840 till: 1841 color:none text:"

Manuel Antonio Ortiz Manuel Antonio Ortiz became President of the Provisional Junta 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 ...

" bar:JuanJoseMedina from: 1841 till: 1841 color:none text:"

Juan José Medina Juan José Medina was List of Presidents of Paraguay, President of the Provisional Junta of Paraguay from 22 January 1841 to 9 February 1841. References

Presidents of Paraguay Year of death missing Year of birth missing 19th-century ...

" bar:JoseGabrielBenitez from: 1841 till: 1841 color:none text:"

José Gabriel Benítez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

" bar:JoseCampos from: 1841 till: 1841 color:none text:" José Campos" bar:MarianoRoqueAlonzo from: 1841 till: 1841 color:none from: 1841 till: 1844 color:none text:" Mariano Roque Alonzo" bar:CarlosAntonioLopez from: 1841 till: 1844 color:none from: 1844 till: 1862 color:none text:"

Carlos Antonio López Carlos Antonio López Ynsfrán (November 4, 1792 – September 10, 1862) served as leader of Paraguay from 1841 to 1862. Early life López was born at Manorá (Asunción) on November 4, 1792, as one of eight children. He graduated from Real C ...

" bar:FranciscoSolanoLopez from: 1862 till: 1870 color:none text:"

Francisco Solano López Francisco Solano López Carrillo (24 July 1827 – 1 March 1870) was President of Paraguay from 1862 until his death in 1870. He was the eldest son of Juana Pabla Carrillo and of President Carlos Antonio López, Francisco's predecessor. ...

" bar:CiriloAntonioRivarola from: 1869 till: 1870 color:none from: 1870 till: 1871 color:none text:" Cirilo Antonio Rivarola" bar:CarlosLoizaga from: 1869 till: 1870 color:none text:" Carlos Loizaga" bar:JoseDiazdeBedoya from: 1869 till: 1870 color:none text:" José Díaz de Bedoya" bar:FacundoMachain from: 1870 till: 1870 color:none text:" Facundo Machaín" bar:SalvadorJovellanos from: 1871 till: 1874 color:none text:"

Salvador Jovellanos Salvador Silvestre del Rosario Jovellanos Guanes (December 31, 1833 – February 11, 1881) was a Paraguayan politician. He served as Vice President of Paraguay, Vice President in 1871, and President of Paraguay, President from December 18, 1871 � ...

" bar:JuanBautistaGill from: 1874 till: 1877 color:none text:"

Juan Bautista Gill Juan Bautista Gill García (''Juan Bautista Gill Garcia del Barrio'') (October 28, 1840 – April 12, 1877) was President of Paraguay from November 25, 1874 to April 12, 1877 and the only Paraguayan President to be assassinated while in office. ...

" bar:HiginioUriarte from: 1877 till: 1878 color:none text:"

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 ...

" bar:CandidoBareiro from: 1878 till: 1880 color:none text:" Cándido Bareiro" bar:BernardinoCabalero from: 1880 till: 1886 color:none text:"

Bernardino Caballero Juan Bernardino Caballero de Añasco y Melgarejo (20 May 1839, Ybycuí, Paraguay – 26 February 1912, Asunción) was a Paraguayan War veteran, the President of Paraguay from 1880 until 1886 and founder of the Colorado Party. He was the lea ...

" bar:PatricioEscobar from: 1886 till: 1890 color:colorado text:" Patricio Escobar" bar:JuanGualbertoGonzalez from: 1890 till: 1894 color:colorado text:" Juan Gualberto González" bar:MarcosMoringo from: 1894 till: 1894 color:colorado text:" Marcos Morínigo" bar:JuanBautistaEsgusquiza from: 1894 till: 1898 color:colorado text:"

Juan Bautista Egusquiza Juan Bautista Egusquiza Isasi (25 August 1845, Asunción – 24 August 1902) was President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government titl ...

" bar:EmilioAceval from: 1898 till: 1902 color:colorado text:"

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 Maí ...

" bar:AndresHectorCarvallo from: 1902 till: 1902 color:colorado text:"

Andrés Héctor Carvallo Andrés Héctor Carvallo Acosta (8 November 1862, Asunción – 16 August 1934) was a Paraguayan politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies.https://www.csj.gov.py/cache/lederes/R-1-011891-L-3-0.pdf Later he served as Vice Pres ...

" bar:JuanAntonioEscurra from: 1902 till: 1904 color:colorado text:"

Juan Antonio Escurra Juan Antonio Escurra (May 6, 1859 – August 24, 1929) was the President of Paraguay from 1902 to 1904. He was born on May 6, 1859 in Caraguatay, Cordillera department. He was married with Josefa M. Rojas, woman from a traditional family, who later ...

" bar:JuanBautistaGaona from: 1904 till: 1905 color:liberal text:"

Juan Bautista Gaona Juan Bautista Gaona Figueredo (30 June 1845 – 18 May 1932) was provisional President of Paraguay October 18, 1904 – December 8, 1905 and later served as Vice President from 1910 to 1911. He was Minister of Finance of Paraguay in December 190 ...

" bar:CecilioBaez from: 1905 till: 1906 color:liberal text:"

Cecilio Báez Cecilio Báez González (January 1, 1862 – June 18, 1941) was provisional President of Paraguay from December 8, 1905 to November 25, 1906. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life and career Dr. Cecilio Báez González was born in As ...

" bar:BenignoFerreira from: 1906 till: 1908 color:liberal text:"

Benigno Ferreira Benigno Asunción Ferreira (January 13, 1846 – June 14, 1920) was President of Paraguay November 25, 1906 – July 4, 1908. He was a member of the Liberal Party. The general and doctor Benigno Ferrerira was one of the main protagonists in the p ...

" bar:EmilianoGonzalesNavero from: 1908 till: 1910 color:liberal from: 1912 till: 1912 color:liberal from: 1931 till: 1932 color:liberal text:"

Emiliano González Navero Emiliano González Navero (16 June 1861 – 18 October 1934) was a Paraguayan politician of the Liberal Party, he served as President of Paraguay on three occasions and as Vice President of Paraguay on two occasions. His life He was one of t ...

" bar:ManuelGondra from: 1910 till: 1911 color:liberal from: 1920 till: 1921 color:liberal text:"

Manuel Gondra Manuel Gondra Pereira (1 January 1871 – 8 March 1927) was the 21st President of Paraguay who served from 25 November 1910 to 11 January 1911 and again from 15 August 1920 to 31 October 1921. Born in Buenos Aires, he was also an author, a jour ...

" bar:AlbinoJara from: 1911 till: 1911 color:liberal text:"

Albino Jara Colonel Albino Jara Benegas (28 February 1877 – 15 May 1912) was provisional List of Presidents of Paraguay, President of Paraguay from 19 January 1911 to 5 July 1911. A military official, he was a member of the Liberal Party (Paraguay), Liberal ...

" bar:LiberatoMarcialRojas from: 1911 till: 1912 color:liberal from: 1912 till: 1912 color:liberal text:" Liberato Marcial Rojas" bar:MarcosCaballeroCodas from: 1912 till: 1912 color:none text:" Marcos Caballero Codas" bar:MarioUscher from: 1912 till: 1912 color:none text:" Mario Uscher" bar:AlfredoAponte from: 1912 till: 1912 color:none text:" Alfredo Aponte" bar:PedroPabloPena from: 1912 till: 1912 color:colorado text:" Pedro Pablo Peña" bar:EduardoSchaerer from: 1912 till: 1916 color:liberal text:" Eduardo Schaerer" bar:ManuelFranco from: 1916 till: 1919 color:liberal text:"

Manuel Franco Manuel Franco (July 9, 1871 – June 5, 1919) was President of Paraguay from August 15, 1916, to June 5, 1919. Childhood and Youth Doctor Manuel Franco was born in Concepción on June 9, 1871, in times of the government of Cirilo Antonio Rivar ...

" bar:JosePedroMontero from: 1919 till: 1920 color:liberal text:"

José Pedro Montero José Pedro Montero (1 August 1878 – 7 June 1927) was President of Paraguay from 1919 to 1920. Early life Montero was born in Asunción, in a neighborhood called Villa Aurelia, southeast of the Recoleta, on 1 August 1878. He married Andrea Ca ...

" bar:FelixPaiva from: 1921 till: 1921 color:liberal from: 1937 till: 1939 color:liberal text:" Félix Paiva" bar:EusebioAyala from: 1921 till: 1923 color:liberal from: 1932 till: 1936 color:liberal text:" Eusebio Ayala" bar:EligioAyala from: 1923 till: 1924 color:liberal from: 1924 till: 1928 color:liberal text:" Eligio Ayala" bar:LuisAlbertoRiart from: 1924 till: 1924 color:liberal text:" Luis Alberto Riart" bar:JosePatricioGuggiari from: 1928 till: 1931 color:liberal from: 1932 till: 1932 color:liberal text:"

José Patricio Guggiari José Patricio Guggiari Corniglione (17 March 1884, in Asunción – 30 October 1957, in Buenos Aires) was a Paraguayan politician by the Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico. He was President of the Republic of Paraguay between 1928 and 1932. ...

" bar:RafaelFranco from: 1936 till: 1937 color:none text:"

Rafael Franco Rafael de la Cruz Franco Ojeda (October 22, 1896 – September 16, 1973) was a Paraguayan military officer and politician, served as Provisional President of Paraguay from February 17, 1936, to August 13, 1937, being also the historical leader ...

" bar:JoseFelixEstigarribia from: 1939 till: 1940 color:liberal text:"

José Félix Estigarribia José Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde (February 21, 1888 in Caraguatay – September 7, 1940 in Altos) was a Paraguayan military officer, politician and president. He was Commander in Chief of the Paraguayan Army during the Chaco War (1 ...

" bar:HiginioMorinigo from: 1940 till: 1948 color:none text:"

Higinio Morínigo Higinio Nicolás Morínigo Martínez (January 11, 1897 – January 27, 1983) was a military officer, politician and Paraguayan dictator. He participated in the Chaco War (1932–1935) as a prominent officer of the Paraguayan Army. After the wa ...

" bar:JuanManuelFrutos from: 1948 till: 1948 color:colorado text:" Juan Manuel Frutos" bar:JuanNatalicioGonzalez from: 1948 till: 1949 color:colorado text:" Juan Natalicio González" bar:RaimundoRolon from: 1949 till: 1949 color:colorado text:" Raimundo Rolón" bar:FelipeMolasLopez from: 1949 till: 1949 color:colorado text:" Felipe Molas López" bar:FedericoChaves from: 1949 till: 1954 color:colorado text:"

Federico Chaves Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Artists * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ. * Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, ...

" bar:TomasRomeroPereira from: 1954 till: 1954 color:colorado text:"

Tomás Romero Pereira Tomás Romero Pereira (October 4, 1886 – August 12, 1982) was President of Paraguay from May 4, 1954, to August 15, 1954. Associated with the Colorado Party and General Alfredo Stroessner He was a member of the Colorado Party. He came to p ...

" bar:AlfredoStroessner from: 1954 till: 1989 color:colorado text:"

" bar:AndresRodrigues from: 1989 till: 1993 color:colorado text:" Andrés Rodríguez" bar:JuanCarlosWasmosy from: 1993 till: 1998 color:colorado text:"

Juan Carlos Wasmosy Juan Carlos Wasmosy Monti (born December 15, 1938) was the president of Paraguay from August 15, 1992 until August 15, 1998. He was a member of the Colorado Party, and the country's first freely elected president, as well as the first civilian ...

" bar:RaulCubas from: 1998 till: 1999 color:colorado text:" Raúl Cubas" bar:LuisAngelGonzalesMacchi from: 1999 till: 2003 color:colorado text:"

Luis Ángel González Macchi Luis Ángel González Macchi (born December 13, 1947, in Asunción) was the President of Paraguay from 1999 until 2003. Career He was the President of the Paraguayan Senate from 1998 to 1999. As the president of the Senate, González Macchi ...

" bar:NicanorDuarte from: 2003 till: 2008 color:colorado text:"

Nicanor Duarte Óscar Nicanor Duarte Frutos (born 11 October 1956) is a Paraguayan politician who served as President of Paraguay from 2003 to 2008. In 2013, President Horacio Cartes appointed Duarte as Ambassador to Argentina, a diplomatic posting he held fro ...

" bar:FernandoLugo from: 2008 till: 2010 color:alianza from: 2010 till: 2012 color:guasu text:"

Fernando Lugo Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Dioc ...

" bar:FedericoFranco from: 2012 till: 2013 color:plra text:"

Federico Franco Luis Federico Franco Gómez (born 24 July 1962) is a Paraguayan politician who was President of Paraguay from June 2012 until August 2013. A member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), he was elected as Vice President of Paraguay in th ...

" bar:HoracioCartes from: 2013 till: 2018 color:colorado text:"

Horacio Cartes Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara (born 5 July 1956) is a Paraguayan businessman and politician who served as the president of Paraguay from 2013 to 2018. He is a member of the Colorado Party. Cartes owns about two dozen businesses in his Grupo Carte ...

" bar:MarioAbdoBenitez from: 2018 till: end color:colorado text:"

Mario Abdo Benítez Mario Abdo Benítez (; born 10 November 1971) is a Paraguayan politician who has served as the president of Paraguay since 2018. He was previously a senator and President of the Senate. Early life and education Abdo Benítez was born in Asun ...

" LineData = at:1830 layer:back color:none width:0.1 at:1850 at:1870 at:1890 at:1910 at:1930 at:1950 at:1970 at:1990 at:2010

Notes

References

External links

Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Heads Of State Of Paraguay Presidents of Paraguay

Presidents 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

1844 establishments in Paraguay