Antonio José de Sucre

Antonio José de Sucre
2nd President of Bolivia
In office 29 December 1825 – 18 April 1828
Preceded by	Simón Bolívar
Succeeded by	José María Pérez de Urdininea
6th President of Perú
In office 23 June 1823 – 17 July 1823
Preceded by	José de la Riva Agüero
Succeeded by	José Bernardo de Tagle
Personal details
Born	(1795-02-03)February 3, 1795 Cumaná, Viceroyalty of New Granada (in present-day Venezuela)
Died	June 4, 1830(1830-06-04) (aged 35) Pasto, Colombia
Resting place	Cathedral of Quito
Spouse(s)	Maríana de Carcelén y Larrea, Marquise of Solanda
Children	Teresa Sucre y Carcelén
Honorary title	Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho
Signature

Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (Spanish: [anˈtonjo xoˈse ðe ˈsukɾe j alkaˈla]; 1795–1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (English: "Grand Marshal of Ayacucho"), was a Venezuelan independence leader. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.

Ancestry

The aristocratic Sucre family can trace its roots back to origins in Flanders. It arrived in Venezuela through Charles de Sucre y Pardo, a Flemish nobleman, son of Charles Adrian de Sucre, Marquess of Preux and Buenaventura Carolina Isabel Garrido y Pardo, a Spanish noblewoman. Charle de Sucre y Pardo served a soldier in Catalonia in 1698 and was later named Governor of Cartagena de Indias and Captain General of Cuba. On December 22, 1779, Charles Sucre y Pardo arrived in Cumaná, Venezuela having been named Governor of New Andalucia, present day Sucre state.

Military life

In 1814, Sucre joined the battles for South American independence from Spain.

Post-independence period

In 1828, when a strong movement arose against Bolívar, his followers and the Bolivian constitution, Sucre resigned.

Death of Antonio José de Sucre by Arturo Michelena.

Death and legacy

Monument to Antonio José de Sucre in the constitutional capital of Bolivia, Sucre

Some have argued that Sucre was assassinated so as to leave no clear successor to Bolívar. Sucre represented, according to historian Tomas Polanco Alcantara, "the indispensable complement to Simón Bolívar". When news of Sucre's death came to Bolívar, he said, "Se ha derramado, Dios excelso, la sangre del inocente Abel..." ("The blood of the innocent Abel has been spilled, God almighty..."). Bolivar later wrote (Gaceta de Colombia, July 4, 1830):

“

If he had breathed his spirit upon the theater of victory, with his last breath he would have given thanks to heaven for having given him a glorious death; but cowardly murdered in a dark mountain, he leaves his fatherland the duty of persecuting this crime and of adopting measures that will curb new scandals and the repetition of scenes as lamentable and painful as this.

”

Some of his descendants in Venezuela, Ecuador and U.S.A have followed in his military and political footsteps.

Antonio José de Sucre is buried in the Cathedral of Quito, Ecuador, as he had said, "I want my bones to be forever in Quito", where his wife, Mariana de Carcelén y Larrea, Marquise of Solanda, was from.

Further reading

• Sherwell, Guillermo A. (1924). Antonio José de Sucre (Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho): Hero and Martyr of American Independence. Washington, D.C.: Byron S. Adams. 

External links

• (Spanish) Historic document: Memoria a la asamblea del Alto Perú en el día de su instalación.

Political offices
Preceded by Simón Bolívar	President of Bolivia December 29, 1825 – April 18, 1828	Succeeded by José María Pérez de Urdininea
Preceded by José de la Riva Agüero	President of Peru June 23, 1823 – July 17, 1823	Succeeded by José Bernardo de Tagle