Arosemena, Juan Demóstenes (1879–1939)
Arosemena, Juan Demóstenes (1879–1939)
Juan Demóstenes Arosemena (b. 24 June 1879; d. 16 December 1939), jurist, teacher, journalist, member of the Panamanian Academy of History, and president of Panama (1936–1939). Arosemena had a long history of public service. In 1912 he was named chief justice by President Belisario Porras, who appointed him governor of the province of Colón in 1922. He became secretary of foreign relations in the administration of Florencio Harmodio Arosemena (1928–1931).
In 1936 he was the candidate for president of the National Revolutionary Party, which his younger brother, Arnulfo, had helped to organize. He was elected with the backing of President Harmodio Arias Madrid (1932–1936). He died before his term expired and was succeeded by Augusto S. Boyd. Arosemena's regime was basically a caretaker government, paving the way for Arnulfo Arias's ascension to power in 1940.
See alsoPanama .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Manuel María Alba C., Cronología de los gobernantes de Panamá, 1510–1967 (1967).
Walter La Feber, The Panama Canal: The Crisis in Historical Perspective (1978).
Jorge Conte Porras, Diccionario biográfico ilustrado de Panamá, 2d ed. (1986).
Juan Manuel PÉrez