During the second half of the 19th century Argentina had left behind the War of Independence and the most harsh times of the civil war, and began to strengthen its culture. One of the pending issues was to define the Father of the Nation, which was faced by Bartolomé Mitre. The first one thus defined was Bernardino Rivadavia, who served briefly as President of Argentina in 1826. The policies implemented by Rivadavia back then were similar to those implemented by the current governments.