
Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada Corral (24 April 1823 – 21 April 1889) was President of Mexico from 19 July 1872 to 31 October 1876, succeeding Benito Juarez and preceding Jose Maria Iglesias. He was a leader of the Liberal Party of Mexico.
Biography[]
Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada Corral was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico in 1823, the younger brother of Miguel Lerdo de Tejada. He and his brother became Liberal Party of Mexico politicians after practicing law, and Sebastian - unlike his brother - became a supporter of Benito Juarez. He had an active share in conducting the national resistance to the French Intervention of the 1860s, and he served as Foreign Minister from 1863 to 1871, Justice Minister in 1863, and Interior Minister from 1863 to 1868. In 1871, he ran against both Juarez and Porfirio Diaz for the presidency, and no candidate received a clear majority; ultimately, Congress nominated Juarez as President, while Lerdo was consoled with the presidency of the Supreme Court. On Juarez's death in 1872, Lerdo became President, but, in 1876, he tried to overstay his welcome through re-election, leading to Diaz rebelling under the slogan "effective suffrage and no re-election". An outbreak of liberal factionalism between Lerdo and the new president of the Supreme Court, Jose Maria Iglesias, allowed Diaz to defeat both in turn and enter Mexico City in November 1876. Lerdo went into exile in New York City, where he died in 1889.