Alfredo Stroessner

Alfredo Stroessner , 1912-2006, president and dictator of Paraguay (1954-89). Of a German Paraguayan family, he was commissioned an officer (1932) and fought in the Chaco War (1932-35). Named commander in chief of the armed forces (1951), he engineered the coup (1954) that toppled Federico Chávez and became president that same year. Retaining command of the armed forces, he suppressed all opposition, and turned Paraguay into a refuge for Nazi war criminals. He was "reelected" eight consecutive times (1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988) making his rule the longest in 20th-century Latin American history. With Brazil, he built the Itaipú Dam on the Paraná River; its power plant, the world's largest hydroelectric station, dramatically increasing export revenues through the sale of electricity. Though essentially authoritarian, he gradually permitted opposition political activity. He was overthrown in a military coup (1989) and spent the rest of his life in exile in Brazil.

Stroessner, Alfredo (1912– ) Paraguayan military leader and President (1954–89). The son of a German immigrant, he fought in the CHACO WAR (1932–35) against Bolivia. Having risen from the ranks to become commander-in-chief of the armed forces (1951–54), he was responsible for the overthrow of President Frederico Chavez in 1954. Basically supportive of the large landowners and international commercial interests, as President he used foreign aid to develop schools, hospitals, highways, and hydro-electric power. His regime remained strongly backed by the army and was essentially totalitarian in that, while allowing for some political dissent, it was guilty of harsh and repressive methods. Stroessner now lives in exile in Brazil.

Stroessner, Alfredo (b. 3 Nov. 1912). Dictator of Paraguay 1954–89 Born in Encarnación of German descent, the longest-serving Latin American dictator joined the military and became its supreme commander in 1953. He led a coup in 1954 and assumed the presidency, which was subsequently confirmed in nine successive rigged elections. Under his authoritarian leadership, social inequalities increased, so that in 1981, around 1 per cent of the population possessed about 80 per cent of the land. A growing economic crisis which accelerated in 1985 increased political repression, and growing opposition from his own supporters led to his eventual removal in a military coup on 3 February 1989. In 2002, a Paraguayan judge issued an international arrest warrant against Stroessner, who lived in exile in Brazil.