Washington Beltrán

Image of Washington Beltrán Mullín

Washington Beltrán Mullin (6 April 1914 in Montevideo – 19 February 2003) was a Uruguayan politician and journalist.

Biography

Beltrán was the son of Washington Beltrán Barbat, a deputy of the National Party who was killed in 1920 in a duel with former Colorado President José Batlle y Ordóñez. In 1939 Beltrán started working as a journalist for the newspaper El País, which had been co-founded by his father; in 1961 he joined the editorial board of the newspaper.[1]

In 1943 Beltrán was elected to the Chamber of Representatives for the Independent National Party, and served until 1955.[1] He was a co-founder of the Blanco Democratic Union, a faction of the National Party, in 1958, and was a member of the Senate from 1959.[2]

Beltrán was elected to the nine-member National Council of Government in 1962. Following the death of Luis Giannattasio, he served as President of the Council between 1965 and 1966.[1] Beltrán returned to the Senate in 1967. From 1973 until 1980, he was banned from political activities by the country's military government, and subsequently worked as a journalist.[2]

In 1987 Beltrán was appointed Ambassador to the Holy See by President Julio María Sanguinetti, and as such accompanied Pope John Paul II during his visit to Uruguay in 1987.[1]

Despite the rivalry between the National and Colorado parties, Beltrán publicly supported Colorado candidate Jorge Batlle against Socialist candidate Tabaré Vázquez in the second round of the 1999 presidential election.[citation needed]

Beltrán died in Montevideo on 19 February 2003. He is buried at the Central Cemetery of Montevideo.[3]

Honours and awards

Foreign honours

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Evocan la figura de Washington Beltrán". El País. 22 October 2006. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b Lentz III, Harris M. (1994). Heads of States and Governments. A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Over 2,300 Leaders, 1945 through 1992. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 812–813. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Obituaries of Washington Beltrán" (in Spanish). EL PAIS. 2003-02-20.
  4. ^ "Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" (PDF). Archivio Storico della Presidenza della Repubblica. p. 1. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  5. ^ "CONDECORADOS: ORDEN EL SOL DEL PERU". slideshare.net. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. p. 53. Retrieved 11 November 2025.