- Eloy Alfaro
Infobox President
name=José Eloy Alfaro Delgado
nationality=Ecuadorian
birth_date=birth date|1842|06|25|mf=y
birth_place=Montecristi,Ecuador
death_date=death date and age|1912|01|28|1842|06|25|mf=y
death_place=Quito ,Ecuador
spouse=Ana Paredes y Arosemena
office=President of Ecuador
term_start=January 16 ,1906
term_end=August 12 ,1911
vicepresident=
predecessor=Lizardo García
successor=Carlos Freile Zaldumbide
office2=President of Ecuador
term_start2=August 23 ,1895
term_end2=September 1 ,1901
vicepresident2=
predecessor2=Vicente Lucio Salazar
successor2=Leónidas Plaza
office3=Supreme Chief of Manabí & Esmeraldas, in rebellion
term_start3=February , 1883
term_end3=October 11 ,1883
vicepresident3=
predecessor3=
successor3=José Eloy Alfaro Delgado (
June 25 ,1842 in Montecristi -January 28 ,1912 inQuito ), was president ofEcuador from 1895 to 1901 and from 1906 to 1911.Eloy Alfaro was the leader of the
Ecuadorian Liberal Revolution which he fought since his youth until 1895 when the liberals took power.He is attributed with separating the church from the state and implementing many political and
civil rights like freedom of speech, finishing the first railroad fromGuayaquil toQuito , legalizing divorce, building public schools, and allowingcivil marriage .He was killed in 1912 by the infuriated people of Quito. His body was mutilated, dragged through the streets and finally burned at "El Ejido".
In a recently conducted survey by a leading television channel in Ecuador, Alfaro was named the "Greatest Ecuadorian" in recognition of the changes he promoted which still exist today in Ecuadorian society. In 1991 the Ecuadorian Navy purchased from Britain the
frigate Penelope and renamed her "Presidente Eloy Alfaro".He is also accredited for founding the "Colegio Militar Eloy Alfaro" on December 11, 1899, a six year high school in the center of Quito, and "Escuela Militar Eloy Alfaro" a colleague in the outskirts of Quito.
His likeness appears on the Ecuador currency 50 cent coin.
External links
* [http://www.presidencia.gov.ec/modulos.asp?id=28/ Official Website of the Ecuadorian Government about the country President's History]
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