Manuel A. Odría facts for kids

Manuel A. Odría OESP
Quick facts for kids
45th President of Peru
In office 28 July 1950 – 28 July 1956
Prime Minister	Zenón Noriega Agüero Roque Saldías Maninat Armando Revoredo Iglesias
Vice President	Héctor Boza Federico Bolognesi
Preceded by	Zenón Noriega Agüero
Succeeded by	Manuel Prado Ugarteche
President of the Government Junta of Peru
In office 1 November 1948 – 1 June 1950
Preceded by	Zenón Noriega Agüero
Succeeded by	Zenón Noriega Agüero
Minister of Government and Police
In office 12 January 1947 – 17 June 1948
President	José Bustamante y Rivero
Preceded by	Rafael Belaúnde Diez-Canseco
Succeeded by	Julio César Villegas Cerro
Personal details
Born	(1896-11-26)26 November 1896 Tarma, Junín, Peru
Died	18 February 1974(1974-02-18) (aged 77) Lima, Peru
Nationality	Peru (Italian ancestry)
Political party	Odriíst National Union
Spouse	María Delgado Romero [es]
Children	2
Profession	Military officer
Military service
Allegiance	Peru
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Ecuadorian–Peruvian War Battle of Zarumilla

Manuel Arturo Odría Amoretti (born November 26, 1896 – died February 18, 1974) was a military general. He became the 45th President of Peru.

Manuel Odría's Life Story

Early Years and Military Career

Manuel Odría was born in 1896 in Tarma, a city in the central Andes mountains of Peru. He was a very bright student. He graduated at the top of his class from the Chorillos Military Academy in 1915.

He joined the army and quickly rose through the ranks. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he became a hero during the 1941 Ecuadorian–Peruvian War. He soon reached the rank of Major General.

Taking Power and His Presidency

1948 Peruvian coup d’etat
Date 27 October 1948 Location Peru Status Zenón Noriega removed from power
Belligerents
Peru	APRA
Commanders and leaders
Manuel A. Odría	Zenón Noriega Agüero

In 1945, José Bustamante became president with help from a political party called American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA). Soon, President Bustamante and Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, who started APRA, had big disagreements.

President Bustamante then chose a new group of ministers, mostly military officers. Odría, who strongly disliked APRA, became the Minister of Government and Police. In 1948, Odría and other right-wing leaders wanted President Bustamante to ban APRA. When the President said no, Odría quit his job.

On October 27, 1948, Odría led a successful military takeover against the government. He then became president. After two years, he stepped down briefly. He let one of his friends, Zenón Noriega, take office as a temporary president. This allowed Odría to run for president as a regular citizen. He won the election easily, as he was the only candidate.

During his time as president, Odría was very strict with APRA. This pleased the wealthy families and other right-wing groups. He also used a style of leadership called populism. This meant he focused on policies that were popular with the poor and working classes.

Peru's economy was doing well, which allowed him to spend money on social programs. These programs were expensive but made many people happy. However, during his rule, people's freedoms were limited. There was also a lot of corruption in his government.

Many people thought Odría would stay in power forever. But surprisingly, in 1956, he allowed other political parties to exist again. He then called for new elections and chose not to run himself. Manuel Prado, a former president, took over after him.

Elections of 1962 and 1963

In 1962, Odría ran for president again. He was a right-wing candidate for the Unión Nacional Odriista party. There were three main candidates: Odría, Haya de la Torre, and Fernando Belaúnde. None of them won enough votes to become president right away.

It looked like Odría would win in Congress because he had made a deal with Haya de la Torre. But a few days before President Prado's term ended, the military took over the government again. New elections were held in 1963 with the same three main candidates. This time, Belaúnde won the election.

While Belaúnde was president, Odría and Haya de la Torre formed an alliance in Parliament. This group was known as the APRA-UNO Coalition. They became a strong opposition group. They made it difficult for President Belaúnde to pass his laws. He often had to agree to their demands to get things done. The Coalition lost some power after they lost the election for mayor in Lima, the capital city.

Later Life and Passing Away

After the military took over from President Belaúnde in 1968, Odría stayed out of politics. He passed away in 1974.

Family Life

Manuel Odría has family members who are still involved in Peruvian politics today. These include Enrique Odría Sotomayor and Brenda Odria Loayza.

See Also

In Spanish: Manuel Odría para niños