Washington Beltrán
Uruguayan political figure
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jorge Washington Beltrán Mullin, better known as Washington Beltrán (6 April 1914 in Montevideo – 19 February 2003) was a Uruguayan politician and journalist.
Biography
Beltrán was the son of Washington Beltrán Barbat, a deputy of the National Party who was killed in 1920 in a duel with former Colorado President José Batlle y Ordóñez. In 1939 Beltrán started working as a journalist for the newspaper El País, which had been co-founded by his father; in 1961 he joined the editorial board of the newspaper.[1]
In 1943 Beltrán was elected to the Chamber of Representatives for the Independent National Party, and served until 1955.[1] He was a co-founder of the Blanco Democratic Union, a faction of the National Party, in 1958, and was a member of the Senate from 1959.[2]
Beltrán was elected to the nine-member National Council of Government in 1962. Following the death of Luis Giannattasio, he served as President of the Council between 1965 and 1966.[1] Beltrán returned to the Senate in 1967. From 1973 until 1980, he was banned from political activities by the country's military government, and subsequently worked as a journalist.[2]
In 1987 Beltrán was appointed Ambassador to the Holy See by President Julio María Sanguinetti, and as such accompanied Pope John Paul II during his visit to Uruguay in 1987.[1]
Despite the rivalry between the National and Colorado parties, Beltrán publicly supported Colorado candidate Jorge Batlle against Socialist candidate Tabaré Vázquez in the second round of the 1999 presidential election.[citation needed]
Beltrán died in Montevideo on 19 February 2003. He is buried at the Central Cemetery of Montevideo.[3]
Honours and awards
Foreign honours
Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (8 September 1965)[4]
Peru: Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru (25 October 1966)[5]
