Venancio Víctor López Otazú (21 February 1862 – 11 August 1927) was a Paraguayan journalist, diplomat and professor of law. He was a grandson of

Carlos Antonio López Carlos Antonio López Ynsfrán (November 4, 1792 – September 10, 1862) was leader of Paraguay from 1841 to 1862. Under his presidency, he undertook a process of economic and political modernization for Paraguay, and ended the isolationist poli ...

, who was the leader of

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 ...

between 1841 and 1862, and nephew of

Francisco Solano López Francisco Solano López Carrillo (24 July 1827 or 1826 – 1 March 1870) was a Paraguay, Paraguayan statesman, Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870, of which he serve ...

, president of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870.

Biography

Early life and studies

Venancio 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 1862, to Venancio López Carrillo and Manuela Otazú Machaín. His father Venancio was

's son, and

's brother; between them, the last two were

's heads of state between 1841 and 1870. In 1864, the Triple Alliance War started, pitting Paraguay versus the much larger and populous nations of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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 ...

and, from 1865 onwards,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The conflict was mostly fought on Paraguayan soil and led to great destruction for the country; it ended in 1870, but the foreign occupation lasted until 1876, when the final border agreement with Argentina was signed. His father Venancio died during the war. In the conflict's aftermath, his mother Manuela took him and his brothers, Ercilia and Carlos, to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, where he was educated, eventually becoming a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

through the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

Return to Asunción

Coming back to Paraguay in the late 1880s, he ended up marrying ex-president Higinio Uriarte's daughter, María del Carmen Uriarte Velilla; when she died, he remarried, taking as his spouse Victorina Viera. He joined the Colorado Party soon after returning; it concentrated most of those who had been on Solano López' side during the war. During

Juan Gualberto González Juan Gualberto González (July 12, 1851 – July 30, 1912) was the President of Paraguay and served from 1890 until his forced resignation in 1894. Life Juan Gualberto González was born in Asunción on July 12, 1851. He married with teach ...

's government, he was named

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, ...

, a position he held between 1890 and 1894; he also had held a seat in the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

between 1887 and 1888, and taught in 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 ...

. Briefly, in 1899, he was made Minister of Justice, Religion and Education in Emilio Aceval's cabinet.

Later life and death

He died in 1927 in Buenos Aires.

References

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Venancio Victor 1862 births 1927 deaths Justices of the Supreme Court of Paraguay People from Asunción Ministers of foreign affairs of Paraguay Academic staff of Universidad Nacional de Asunción University of Buenos Aires alumni