Norberto Ramírez Áreas (15 April 1802,
León, Nicaragua
León () is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. Founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de León, it is the capital and largest city of León Department. , the municipality of León has an estimated population of ...
– 11 July 1856, León, Nicaragua) was a
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
n lawyer and politician who served as acting
Supreme Chief of
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
(20 September 1840 – 7 January 1841), still technically a part of the
Federal Republic of Central America
The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
, and as the 6th
Supreme Director of independent Nicaragua (1 April 1849 – 1 April 1851).
Background
He was born in
León on 15 April 1802 and studied law at the
university there.
He was the father of Mercedes Ramírez de Meléndez, whose sons
Carlos and
Jorge Meléndez were later presidents of the Republic of El Salvador.
In El Salvador
On 20 September 1840 a revolt of the garrison in
San Salvador
San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
led by General
Francisco Malespín forced the resignation of Ramírez's predecessor, Colonel
Antonio José Cañas. (Malespín had intended to rule through Cañas, but Cañas was not agreeable.) After
José Damián Villacorta rejected the appointment, Ramírez took over the government.
In December 1840 a riot broke out in
Santiago Nonualco
Santiago Nonualco is a municipality in La Paz department of El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on ...
, led by
Petronilo Castro, but was soon suppressed by the government. Despite the fact that Ramírez governed for a few months, he knew how to balance his short period of government, given the difficult political situation of that time.
The Constituent Assembly met on 4 January 1841, and on 7 January admitted the formal resignation of Colonel Cañas from the supreme leadership and appointed
Juan Lindo as supreme head of the provisional state in his place. Ramírez handed over command to Lindo the same day, and he proceeded to be deputy chief along with
Pedro José Arce and
Joaquín Eufracio Guzmán who replaced Villacorta.
In Nicaragua
He was president of the
Nicaraguan Congress in 1846.
On 5 March 1849 the Legislative assembly of Nicaragua declared Ramírez the elected Supreme Director, and he took office on 1 April. Ramírez ordered the commander of the army,
Fruto Chamorro, to suppress constant revolts led by the liberal General
Bernabé Somoza. He was caught and executed in Rivas.
Clayton–Bulwer Treaty
On 9 July he received the Plenipotentiary Minister of the United States of America in Central America, the historian
Ephraim George Squier
Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888), usually cited as E. G. Squier, was an American archaeologist, history writer, painter and newspaper editor.
Biography
Squier was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister, Joel S ...
, who would arrive in Nicaragua on 5 September and be greeted by Nicaragua's former Supreme Director,
Evaristo Rocha, in
El Viejo. Squier brought Ramírez a message of solidarity from the United States with the state in the face of British claims. At the end of 1849, the supreme director sent the lawyer
Eduardo Carcache to the city of
Washington as extraordinary and plenipotentiary minister of Nicaragua in the United States, Carcache being the first with this position, he was commissioned by the Nicaraguan government to try to obtain the signing of a treaty on an interoceanic canal by Nicaragua and to win the support of the United States in the conflict with England regarding the occupation of the San Juan River and the Mosquito Coast.
The
Clayton–Bulwer Treaty signed between the United States and the United Kingdom in 1850 signaled the relinquishment of claims to power and exclusive rights over the projected Nicaraguan canal. On 25 July that same year, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Spain was signed, which definitively recognized the independence of Nicaragua.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Norberto
1856 deaths
People from León, Nicaragua
Presidents of Nicaragua
Presidents of El Salvador
Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Nicaragua)
1802 births