Líber Seregni Mosquera (13 December 1916 – 31 July 2004) was a

Uruguayan Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. In his youth he was a member of the Colorado Party. Under successive governments of that party, he had a successful military career until his retirement in 1968. In 1971, Seregni split with the Colorado Party. He founded the Broad Front (), a left-wing

political coalition A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

, and was its presidential candidate in the general election of 1971. Banned and imprisoned by the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

, he was released in 1984. In 1989 he was once again presidential candidate in the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

Early life

Seregni was born on 13 December 1916, in the

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

'' of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. His primary school education was at the "Escuela Brasil" ("Brazil School") in the Pocitos ''barrio''. In 1937 he was arrested for participating in a demonstration in support of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

Military career

Seregni joined the Army of Uruguay in 1931, and was promoted the

junior officer Junior officer, company officer or company grade officer refers to the lowest operational commissioned officer category of ranks in a military or paramilitary organization, ranking above non-commissioned officers and below senior officers. D ...

rank of

Alférez In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "knight" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...

three years later. He rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1958 and to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 1963. In 1959 Seregni organized the evacuation of

Paso de los Toros Paso de los Toros (''Bulls' Pass'') is a city of the Tacuarembó Department in Uruguay. History The Midland Uruguay Railway began operation in 1889 with a line that ran between Paso de los Toros and Salto. On 17 July 1903, the group of houses ...

when the city was flooded in the Uruguayan floods of April 1959. He served as

Military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

to the Uruguayan

Embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes a ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. Seregni was appointed commander of the second military region of San José and then the first military region of

Post-Dictatorship and Death

In 1971, he made an unsuccessful run for president as the Frente Amplio candidate, receiving 18.3% of the vote (3rd place). From 1973 until 1984 he was imprisoned, as part of the proceedings of the military dictatorship of Uruguay. In 1989, after the end of the dictatorship, he made the 2nd attempt at the presidency and received 20,35% of the votes (2nd place). He died on 31 July 2004, of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

, three months before the Frente Amplio won the 2004 presidential elections. Seregni was given a

State funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

, as the then current Colorado Party government directed.

Personal life

He married Lilí Lerena 1941; the couple had two daughters, Bethel and Giselle.

Honors

Lenin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel ...

, 1980-1982. * Funeral with state honors, 2004.

References

External links

Frente Amplio: Gral. Líber Seregni

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seregni, Liber 1916 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Montevideo Uruguayan people of Italian descent Uruguayan National Army generals Broad Front (Uruguay) politicians Candidates for President of Uruguay Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Uruguay Burials at the Central Cemetery of Montevideo Recipients of the Lenin Peace Prize Military attachés