President of the Senate
What was the position of Guillermo Billinghurst between Oct 1896 and Jan 1897?
Guillermo Billinghurst Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo ( Arica , July 27 , 1851 – Iquique , June 28 , 1915 ) was a Peruvian politician who served as the 31st President of Peru . He succeeded Augusto B . Leguía , from 1912 to 1914 . Billinghurst was of part English descent . The surname Billinghurst is a locational name of Billinghurst a parish in Sussex , England . During his presidency , Billinghurst became embroiled in an increasingly bitter series of conflicts with Congress , ranging from proposed advanced social legislation to settlement of the Tacna-Arica dispute . This provoked a military uprising organized by civilian opponents to his regime who used the military to carry out a coup . As a result of the uprising , Billinghurst was sent into exile in Chile where he died shortly thereafter . Member of the Civilista Party . Billinghurst belonged to the Civilistas group , which were then considered the architects of unprecedented political stability and economic growth in the country , but they also set in motion profound social changes that would , in time , alter the political panorama of Peru . As First Vice President of Peru under the Piérola Administration ( 1895–1899 ) , Billinghurst was involved in several attempts to solve the Tacna and Arica territorial dispute with Chile . On April 9 , 1898 , a memorandum was subscribed between the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Raimundo Silva Cruz and Billinghurst . It established that before a plebiscite could be held between both countries , an arbitrage would first be requested to the Queen of Spain , María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena ( 1858–1929 ) to determine the conditions of the vote . Subsequent events led the Protocol of Billinghurst-Latorre not to be ratified by the Chilean Chamber of Deputies . A direct result of this setback was the break of diplomatic relations between Peru and Chile in 1901 . Billinghurst served as the President of the Senate from 1896 to 1897 . 1912 elections . The elections of 1912 were the most passionate ones of the so-called Aristocratic Republic ( a term coined by Peruvians referring to those in power that were mostly from the social elite of the country ) . The Civilist Party rallied behind the candidacy of Antero Aspíllaga , one of the most prominent and conservative members of the Party . His opponents accused him of being a Chilean-born Peruvian unfit for office . The Civilistas , however , were unable to manage the new social forces that their policies unleashed . This first became apparent in 1912 when the millionaire businessman Guillermo Billinghurst-–the reform-minded , populist former mayor of Lima-–was able to organize a general strike to block the election of the official Civilista presidential candidate and force his own election by Congress . Presidency . One of the main accomplishments of the Billinghurst administration was the establishment of important legislation that guaranteed the Eight-hour day in Peru . When Congress opened impeachment hearings against Billinghurst in 1914 , he threatened to arm the workers and forcibly dissolve Congress . Guillermo Billinghurst was overthrown on February 4 , 1914 , in a military coup headed by colonel Oscar R . Benavides , Javier and Manuel Prado , and conservatives members of the Civilista Party . Later in exile , Billingshurst claimed the following : The young Prado , in an extense and pathetic speech , gave me the details and motives behind the coup : All of them ( the mutineerered ) recognised my patriotism , integrity and my capability to handle the government . However , the only and most serious mistake that I made was the course that my internal politics was doing to the country and , finally , I think the sons of former president Prado must «clean his fathers memory»