Raúl Porras Barrenechea (23 March 1897 – 27 September 1960) was a Peruvian diplomat, historian and politician. He was President of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1957 and

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, ...

between 1958 and 1960. A well-known figure of the

student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...

in San Marcos in the early 20th century, Porras became one of the most prominent hispanist historians of his generation and a leading figure of the Peruvian diplomacy.

Biography

He was born in Pisco, Peru on 23 March 1897 into a prominent family. Porras was the nephew of Melitón Porras, a distinguished diplomat and a former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

, and a grandson of José Antonio Barrenechea, several times Minister of Foreign Relations. He was educated at the Recoleta Sacred Heart School of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

and the University of San Marcos, where he obtained a degree in law in 1922 and a doctoral degree in philosophy, history and letters in 1928. While in San Marcos, Porras became a prominent figure in academic circles and a well-known leader of the so-called Centenary Generation. He was a student delegate to international conferences in

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

, Buenos Aires and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, and was an active member of the University Reform movement. In 1919, he was named personal secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Then, he was appointed librarian of the Ministry in 1922 and Adviser to the Peruvian Delegation in the Plebiscitary Commission for the Tacna-Arica Affair in 1924. In 1926, he was appointed Chief of the Archive of Limits, the cartographic department of the Ministry, and Representative to the Centenary of the Panama Congress. In 1928, Porras, already a respected academic and published author, entered San Marcos obtaining a tenure position. He subsequently taught

Spanish literature Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other ...

history of Peru The history of Peru spans 15 millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the Andes mountains. Peru's coast was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization ...

and diplomatic history. In 1933, he also started to teach at the Catholic University of Lima. During these years, he published several historical biographies and researches on the colonial period. In 1934, he moved to Europe. In Spain, he conducted research at the

General Archive of the Indies The ''Archivo General de Indias'' (; standard abbreviation AGI; ), often simply called the Archive of the Indies, was created by Carlos III of Spain, Carlos III and inaugurated in 1785. It is housed in the former Consulado de mercaderes, merchan ...

, the National Historical Archive and the Library of the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid () is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Eu ...

. Next year, Porras was appointed Counsellor of the Peruvian legation in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and, in 1936, he was appointed Representative to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

in Geneva, a post he occupied until 1938. Before returning to his country in 1940, he edited some of the works of

César Vallejo César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza (March 16, 1892 – April 15, 1938) was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only two books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators ...

in Paris and continued his research at the Spanish archives. In 1941, Porras was appointed Adviser to the Ministry and Chief of the Press Office. He was subsequently promoted to the ranks of

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

and Ambassador in 1942 and 1944, respectively. He entered the

Hispanic Society of America The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly appl ...

in 1944 and obtained the National Prize of History in 1945. In 1948, he was appointed Ambassador to Spain. Upon his return in 1950, he was named Director of the Institute of History of San Marcos and was elected President of the Peruvian Institute of Hispanic Culture. In 1956, he was elected

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and that same year Vice President of his chamber. In 1957, he became President of the Senate for six months due to the sudden death of José Gálvez. Next year, President Manuel Prado appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs. He performed his duties as Minister with some interruptions due to his ill health. However, Porras attended the 13th General Assembly of the United Nations in 1958, the 14th General Assembly in 1959 and accompanied President Prado in his

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

s to France, Italy and Germany in 1960. In August of this year, he attended the 8th Conference of American Ministers of Foreign Relations in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and gave his historic speech against the new U.S. intervention in Cuba. Seriously ill, Porras resigned on 12 September 1960, and died fifteen days later on 27 September.

Works

He is the author of, among others, the following works: * ''El periodismo en el Perú''. 1921 * ''Lima''. 1924 * ''Alegato del Perú en la cuestión de límites de Tacna y Arica''. 1925 * ''Historia de los límites del Perú''. 1926 * '' Mariano José de Arce''. 1926 * ''Réplica a la exposición chilena''. 2 vols. 1927 * '' José Antonio Barrenechea''. 1928 * '' Toribio Pacheco''. 1928 * ''El congreso de Panamá''. 1930 * ''Historia de los Límites del Perú: Texto dictado a los alumnos del Colegio Anglo-Peruano de Lima.'' (Lima: F. y E. Rosay. 1930) * ''Pequeña antología de Lima''. Madrid. 1935 * ''El testamento de Pizarro''. París. 1936 * ''Las relaciones primitivas y la indisciplina republicana.'' (París: Impr. Les Presses modernes. 1937) * ''El

inca Garcilaso de la Vega Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (12 April 1539 – 23 April 1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca, was a chronicler and writer born in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Sailing to Spain at 21, he was educated informally there, where he li ...

(1539-1616)'' (Lima: Lumen. 1946) * ''Relación de la descendencia de Garci Pérez de Vargas (1596)''. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Facsimile reproduction of the original manuscript with a foreword by Raúl Porras Barrenechea. (Lima: Instituto de Historia. 1951) * ''El inca Garcilaso, en Montilla, 1561-1614: nuevos documentos hallados y publicados''. (Lima: Instituto de Historia-Editorial San Marcos. 1955) * ''El paisaje peruano de Garcilaso a Riva Agüero.'' (Lima: Imprenta Santa María. 1955) * ''Cartas del Perú, 1524-1543.'' (Lima: Sociedad de Bibliófilos Peruanos. 1959) * ''Antología del Cuzco''. (Lima: Librería Internacional del Perú. 1961) * ''Fuentes históricas peruanas: Apuntes de un curso universitario.'' (Lima: Instituto Raúl Porras Barrenechea. 1963) * ''Los cronistas del Perú.'' (Lima: Sanmartí Impresores. 1962) * ''Pizarro'' (Lima: Editorial Pizarro. 1978) * ''San Marcos, la cultura peruana'' (Lima: Fondo Editorial UNMSM, 2010) * ''Pequeña antología de Lima/ El nombre del Perú'' (2005) Orbis Ventures S.A.C. Lima ISBN 9972-205-92-4

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porras Barrenechea, Raul 1897 births 1960 deaths Presidents of the Senate of Peru Historians of Peru People from Pisco, Peru Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian people of Basque descent Foreign ministers of Peru Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Biography

Works

See also

References

External links