Fernando Belaúnde Terry

Fernando Belaúnde Terry (born Fernando Sergio Marcelo Marcos Belaúnde Terry, 4 April 1912 – 4 June 2002) also known by his initials FBT, was a Peruvian politician and architect who was the 49th and 52nd President of Peru from 1963 until he was deposed in a coup in 1968 and again from 1980 to 1985. When he was re-elected into office in 1980, Belaúnde was the first ever civilian president of Peru after twelve years of military rule.

He was very popular among the people. He also recognized the Falkland Islands as part of Argentina and not the United Kingdom. He also improved relations with the United States as well. He was also considered a "champion of democracy" for the 1980s as well.

In 1985 after leaving office, he was succeeded by Alan García who just like Belaúnde, served as president twice and who also became the youngest president of Peru at that time. Belaúnde died in Lima on 4 June 2002, at the age of 90."Peru mourns death of 'model democrat'" (BBC News)

 Early life and education 
The second of four children, Belaúnde was born in Lima into an aristocratic family of Spanish forebears: his father, Rafael Belaúnde Diez Canseco (1886–1972), a professor, served as Prime Minister under José Bustamante y Rivero; his paternal grandfather, Mariano Andrés Belaunde was a Finance Minister; and one of his great-grandfathers, Pedro Diez Canseco, was also President of the Republic.Gunther, John, Inside South America, p. 322

He attended the Sagrados Corazones Recoleta in Lima.Novak, Fabián. Las relaciones entre el Perú y Alemania, 1828–2003 (Serie Política exterior peruana). Fondo Editorial PUCP, 2004. , 9789972426346. p. 45.

During the dictatorship of Augusto B. Leguía, the persecution for the political activities of his father Rafael and his uncle Víctor Andrés Belaúnde prompted the family to move to France in 1924, where Fernando attended high school and received his initial University education in engineering.

From 1930 to 1935, Belaúnde studied architecture in the United States, where he first attended the University of Miami(where his father was also teaching), and in 1935 transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where he obtained his degree as an architect. He later moved to Mexico and worked as an architect for a brief time, but returned to Peru in 1936 and started his professional career as an architect designing private homes. In 1937, he started a magazine called El Arquitecto Peruano ("Peruvian Architect"), which dealt with interior design, general urbanism and housing problems the country was facing. This also gave way to the Architects Association of Peru and the Urbanism Institute of Peru.

As a result, Belaúnde also became a government public-housing consultant throughout the country and abroad. In 1943, Belaúnde began teaching architecture and urban planning at Escuela Nacional de Ingenieros of Lima and later became the dean of the Civil Engineering and Architecture department. Belaúnde also directed the construction, along with other professors and students, of the faculty of architecture of the National University of Engineering in 1955.

References

Other websites
Página oficial de Acción Popular.
Extended biography by CIDOB Foundation (in Spanish)
El Arquitecto Peruano, Belaúnde's magazine (Spanish and English)
Fernando Belaunde Terry  recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on  Apr. 22, 1977

Category:1912 births
Category:2002 deaths
Category:Presidents of Peru
Category:Politicians from Lima