Héctor Velázquez (1864–1945) was a

Paraguayan Paraguayans () are the citizens of Paraguay. Though the majority of Paraguayans reside in Paraguay, significant communities have been established in multiple countries, most noticeably Argentina, Spain, United States, Brazil. History The first ...

physician, diplomat and educator. He was 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 ...

's first Paraguayan dean, and he served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

during Juan Bautista Egusquiza's government. He was also Paraguay's first ophthalmologist ever.

Biography

Early life and studies

Velázquez was born in

Asunción Asunción (, ) 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 Asunción in the north ...

in 1864 to Cantalicia Velázquez and an unknown father. The first in his class in the Colegio Nacional, he was given a scholarship by the government to study medicine in the University of Buenos Aires' Medical School.

Professional life

After he had returned to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, where he was the first practitioner of

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

in the country, he was dean of the

from April 1891 to February 1893, being 27 years old when he took the job. A year after leaving that post, he became part of General Juan Bautista Egusquiza's cabinet as

. In 1895, he left the cabinet to make way for veteran diplomat

José Segundo Decoud José Segundo Decoud Domecq (14 May 1848 – 3 March 1909) was a Paraguayan politician, journalist, diplomat and military officer. He is often considered one of the foremost intellectuals of his generation, and was also one of the first liberal ...

. Egusquiza in compensation gave him the post of ambassador plenipotentiary in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

. In 1910 he held the Ministry again for close to three months. In 1898 he was made dean of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción's medical school. It had been closed since 1890, so he had to reorganize its faculty. He died in 1945.

Honours

* : Commander by Number in the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

.Sesiones del período legislativo del año 1901
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References

Citations

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velázquez, Héctor 1864 births 1945 deaths People from Asunción Ministers of foreign affairs of Paraguay Paraguayan ophthalmologists Paraguayan diplomats Academic staff of Universidad Nacional de Asunción University of Buenos Aires alumni Ambassadors of Paraguay to Italy