Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre (
1795-
1830) was a
South American independence leader, one of
Simón Bolívar's closest friends.
Antonio José de Sucre was born in Cumaná,
Venezuela, then part of the
Spanish colony of
Nueva Granada.
In 1811 he joined the battles for American independence from
Spain. He proved himself an able military leader. After defeating Spanish forces at Boyaca in 1819 he was given the rank of
brigadier general. In
1821 Bolívar put him in charge of the campaign to liberate
Quito. He won a decisive victory at the Battle of Pichincha on
24 May,
1822.
Further victories followed over the Spanish forces in
Peru, notably on
6 August,
1824, then on
9 December at
Ayacucho decisively capturing the bulk of the Spanish troops and command, including the
Viceroy.
Sucre was elected
president of the newly formed nation of
Bolivia in
1826, but dissatisfied with political conflicts resigned two years later and moved to Quito.
In
1829, on the urging of Bolívar, the Congress of
Gran Colombia named him president of that nation.
Factions wished to divide Gran Colombia into separate countries. Sucre headed to Quito to try to prevent this, but en route was assassinated in the mountainous region of Berruecos, near
Pasto, in the south of
Colombia.
The city of
Sucre in
Bolivia was named after him, as well as the former
Sucre (currency) of
Ecuador.
External link
\n*biography and links to related events provided by the Ministry of National Defense of Ecuador\n*
history\nCategory:Bolivian presidents\n\n\n
