José María Vargas

This article is about the Venezuelan President. For the Ecuadorian friar and historian, see José María Vargas (historian).

José María Vargas Ponce (10 March 1786, in La Guaira – 13 April 1854, in New York City) was the president of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836. He was elected in the 1834 Venezuelan presidential election, the first free and fair elections in South America.^[1] He defeated the candidate supported by incumbent president.^[1] Vargas was Venezuela's first civilian president.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vargas and the second or maternal family name is Ponce.

Jose María Vargas
President of Venezuela
In office 9 February 1835 – 9 July 1835
Preceded by	Andrés Narvarte
Succeeded by	José María Carreño
In office 20 August 1835 – 24 April 1836
Preceded by	José María Carreño
Succeeded by	Andrés Narvarte
Personal details
Born	(1786-03-10)10 March 1786 La Guaira, Venezuela
Died	13 July 1854(1854-07-13) (aged 68) New York City, United States
Spouse	Encarnación Maitín
Signature

He was overthrown in 1835, returned to office, and resigned in 1836 amid pressure.^[1]

He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Seminario Tridentino, and obtained in 1809 his medical degree from the Real y Pontificia Universidad de Caracas. Vargas was imprisoned in 1813 for revolutionary activities. Upon his release in 1813, he travelled to United Kingdom for medical training.^[2] Vargas performed cataract surgery. He was one of the earliest oculists (eye surgeons) in Puerto Rico after his arrival there in 1817.^[2] He returned to Venezuela to practice medicine and surgery in 1825.^[2]

Presidency

These paragraphs are an excerpt from Presidency of José María Vargas.[edit]

The presidency of José María Vargas was elected through indirect elections and appointed by the Congress, succeeding José Antonio Páez's first administration in 1835. As the second constitutional government of Venezuela following the country's separation from Gran Colombia, Vargas's presidency was constitutionally mandated to last until 1839 but remained uncompleted.

Personal life

José María Vargas was married to Encarnación Maitín,^{[citation needed]} who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836.^{[citation needed]} In 1877, his ashes were brought to Caracas and buried in the National Pantheon on 27 April of that same year.

• 
  Encarnación Maitín in 1827

Honors

The Venezuelan state of Vargas was named after him.