Francisco Morales Bermúdez

Francisco Morales-Bermúdez Cerruti
President of Peru
Armed Forces Revolutionary Government
In office
30 August 1975  28 July 1980
Prime Minister Oscar Vargas Prieto
Jorge Fernández-Maldonado
Guillermo Arbulú Galliani
Óscar Molina Pallochia
Pedro Richter Prada
Vice President Pedro Ritcher Prada
Preceded by Juan Velasco Alvarado
(President of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Government)
Succeeded by Fernando Belaúnde
(Constitutional President)
Prime Minister of Peru
In office
1 February 1975  30 August 1975
President Juan Velasco Alvarado
Preceded by Luis Edgardo Mercado Jarrín
Succeeded by Oscar Vargas Prieto
Minister of War
In office
1 February 1975  30 August 1975
President Juan Velasco Alvarado
Preceded by Luis Edgardo Mercado Jarrín
Succeeded by Oscar Vargas Prieto
Minister of Economy and Finance
In office
13 June 1969  2 January 1974
President Juan Velasco Alvarado
Preceded by Ángel Valdivia Morriberon (Minister of Finance and Commerce)
Succeeded by Guillermo Marcó del Pont
Personal details
Born (1921-10-04) October 4, 1921
Lima, Peru
Nationality Peruvian
Profession Army General

Francisco Morales Bermúdez Cerruti (born October 4, 1921) is a Peruvian general who came to power in Peru in 1975 after deposing his predecessor, General Juan Velasco.[1][2] His grandfather and all his original family were from the old Peruvian department of Tarapacá, which is now part of the Chilean territory. Unable to control the political and economic troubles that the nation faced, he was forced to return power to civilian rule, marking the end of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces, installed by a coup d'etat on October 3, 1968.

Early years

Born in Lima in 1921, he is the son of Army Colonel Remigio Morales Bermúdez and grandson of ex-President Remigio Morales Bermúdez. He received most of his education at Lima's Colegio Inmaculada. In 1939, he was accepted to the Escuela Militar de Chorrillos (Chorrillos Military School). After his graduation, he was an important member of the Centro de Altos Estudios Militares (CAEM).

Political career

Bermúdez achieved the rank of Brigadier General and was appointed to his first political post in 1968 as minister of finance in the administration of Fernando Belaúnde. Internal problems in government forced him to resign after two months.

In 1968, after Belaúnde had been deposed by a coup, the military government led by Velasco asked him to return to the post of Minister of Finance. In 1974, he resigned again, this time because he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Army. In 1975, he was appointed to be both Prime Minister and Minister of War.

With Velasco's health deteriorating, Morales Bermúdez led a military junta against General Velasco and took over as President of Peru on August 29, 1975, leading the country through one of its most severe economic crises. He diverged from the socialist-leaning tendencies of first phase (1968–1975) of the Peruvian Revolution, proclaiming a 'Second Phase' that would lead to a return to democracy.

Legacy

The failure of his political and economic reforms was a severe blow to his administration, hampered by constant political pressure from all sides. A Constitutional Assembly was created in 1978, which replaced the 1933 Constitution enacted during Óscar R. Benavides's presidency; he also called for national elections the next year.

After the 1980 National Elections he turned power over to a legally established government, headed by President Fernando Belaúnde.

After he has presidency, he kept a relatively low profile in Peruvian politics, making sporadic speeches regarding the situation of the army.

In 1985, he made an unsuccessful run for the presidency, obtaining a fraction of one percent of the vote.

Morales Bermudez is currently being prosecuted by Italian judge Luisianna Figliolia for the presumed forced disappearance of 25 Italian citizens in the frame of Operation Condor, a campaign of political oppression against leftists orchestrated by the right-wing dictatorships of South America in the 1970s.[3]

References

Political offices
Preceded by
Edgardo Mercado Jarrín
Prime Minister of Peru
February 1, 1975 August 30, 1975
Succeeded by
Óscar Vargas Prieto
Preceded by
Juan Velasco
President of the Revolutionary Government
August 1975 July 1980
Succeeded by
Fernando Belaúnde
Military offices
Preceded by
Gral. Edgardo Mercado Jarrín
Commander-in-Chief of the Army
February 1, 1975 August 30, 1975
Succeeded by
Gral. Óscar Vargas Prieto
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