Francisco Ramón de Vicuña Larraín (; September 9, 1775 – January 13, 1849) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as acting President of Chile in 1829. Francisco Vicuña was of Basque descent.

Early life

He was born in Santiago on 1775, the son of Francisco de Vicuña Hidalgo y Zavala and of María del Carmen Larraín Salas y Vicuña. He married Mariana de Aguirre, and had 11 children with her. In 1810, Vicuña participated in Chile's war for independence and organized the first

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s production in the country. In 1811, he represented Osorno in the congress, which was to give Chile a constitution, in 1814, he moved to the Senate of Chile. Then, he was arrested for conspiracy against the Spanish crown and banished into exile. Only after Chile's victory at the battle of Chacabuco in 1817, was he able to return to his home land. Bernardo O'Higgins appointed him as a government representative to the northern provinces.

Political life

In 1823 he became the head of the administration of Santiago and then as a delegate to the constitutional convention that year. He was one of the main defenders of the Federalist position championed by

José Miguel Infante y Rojas 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 vernacul ...

. In 1825 the

Supreme Director of Chile The Supreme Director of Chile was the head of state and government of Chile following the independence from Spain in 1810, until 1826. Several List of Government Juntas of Chile, juntas also ruled the country during this period. List ;Political pa ...

Ramón Freire appointed him to be his deputy as well as foreign and interior minister and at times acting war, naval, and finance minister. In 1829, when

Francisco Antonio Pinto Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente (; July 23, 1785 – July 18, 1858) was a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile between 1827 and 1829. Early life He was born in Santiago, the son of Joaquín Pinto and Mercede ...

was elected President of Chile, the runners-up were

Francisco Ruiz-Tagle Portales Francisco Antonio Pascual de la Ascensión Ruiz de Tagle y Portales (; c. 1790 – March 23, 1860) was a Chilean political figure. In 1830, he was briefly Provisional President of the Republic of Chile, elected by Congress. Biography He was b ...

, a liberal federalist, and

José Joaquín Prieto Vial 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 vernacul ...

, a conservative centralist, who both received the same number of votes. Nonetheless, congress, the majority of which was liberal, declared

Joaquín Vicuña Larraín Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982), ...

, a distant third and brother of Francisco Ramón (who was president of the senate) Vice President of Chile. The centralists outraged decided for armed resistance and the

Chilean Civil War of 1829 Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans This is a list of Chileans who ar ...

broke out. In the ensuing civil war between the conservative centralists and the liberal federalists, Pinto was forced twice to leave the post of president to Vicuña. First, from July 14 to October 19, when Vicuña assumed as President Delegate, and then finally when he resigned on November 2 and Vicuña assumed power. On December 7, 1829 the conservative troops under

approached Santiago from the South. The government under Vicuña fled northward to Coquimbo, where they were, however, imprisoned by the victorious conservative troops. Then, Chile was without a leader for a few weeks (from December 7 to 24, 1829) until a Government Junta was organized and took control under José Tomás Ovalle. Under the centralist governments of

and

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile, from 1841 to 1846 and from 1846 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile bet ...

, the liberal Vicuña could not hold any governmental positions. He died in Santiago on January 13, 1849.

Cabinet

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vicuna Larraín, Francisco 1775 births 1849 deaths People from Santiago Presidents of Chile Chilean Ministers of the Interior Foreign ministers of Chile Chilean Ministers of Defense Chilean people of Basque descent People of the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30 Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Presidents of the Senate of Chile Vicuña Francisco