The president of Bolivia is the head of state and head of government of Bolivia, directly elected to a five-year term by the Bolivian people. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the government and is the captain general of the Armed Forces of Bolivia.
Since the office was established in 1825, 66 men and 2 women have served as president. The first president, Simón Bolívar, was elected by the General Assembly of Deputies of The Royal Audiencia of Charcas. For purposes of numbering, members of jointly-ruling juntas and other governing bodies are not included in the official count of presidents, unless one member later assumed the presidency in their own right. Three presidents: Antonio José de Sucre, Germán Busch, and Hernán Siles Zuazo became, after a brief, non-consecutive, interim exercise of power, presidents for longer terms later. In these cases, they are numbered according to that second term. Therefore, Busch is counted as the 36th president, not the 35th, Siles Zuazo as the 46th instead of the 45th, etc.
The presidency of Pedro Blanco Soto, who was assassinated six days after taking office in 1828, was the shortest in Bolivian history. Evo Morales served the longest, over thirteen years, before resigning in 2019. He is the only president to have served more than two consecutive terms. José Miguel de Velasco and Víctor Paz Estenssoro each served for four terms. However, all of Velasco's were non-consecutive and two were in an acting capacity while Paz Estenssoro only served twice consecutively in 1960 and 1964.
Three presidents died in office, one of natural causes and two through tragic circumstances (Adolfo Ballivián, Germán Busch, and René Barrientos). Additionally, Manuel Antonio Sánchez and Pedro José de Guerra died of natural causes while exercising provisional presidential functions. Two were assassinated (Pedro Blanco Soto, Agustín Morales) while nine former presidents were assassinated after leaving office (Antonio José de Sucre, Eusebio Guilarte, Manuel Isidoro Belzu, Jorge Córdova, Mariano Melgarejo, Hilarión Daza, José Manuel Pando, and Juan José Torres and Gualberto Villarroel who had resigned mere hours before his death).
Five vice presidents have assumed the presidency during a presidential term (José Luis Tejada Sorzano, Mamerto Urriolagoitía, Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas, Jorge Quiroga, and Carlos Mesa). Tejada Sorzano was the first to do so in 1934 while Quiroga was the only one to complete the term of their predecessor (Tejada Sorzano extended his mandate past the term of his predecessor).
Bolivia has had a volatile history of coups d'états, 23 of which have resulted in the deposition of 22 presidents (1839, 1841; twice, 1848; twice, 1857, 1861, 1864, 1871, 1876, 1879, 1920, 1936, 1937, 1943, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1978; twice, 1979, and 1980). Velasco was deposed twice in 1841 and December 1848. Additionally, the Council of Ministers of Hernando Siles Reyes was deposed in 1930. Three presidents were deposed by a civil war, a popular uprising, and a revolution. Transmissions of command from one de facto government to another de facto government occurred in seven cases (1841, 1946, 1965, 1966, 1981; twice, and 1982). Two special cases occurred in 1939 when Carlos Quintanilla was installed by the military after the death of Germán Busch and in 1951 when President Mamerto Urriolagoitía resigned in a self-coup in favor of a military junta. Two unconstitutional successions occurred in 1930 when Hernando Siles Reyes entrusted command to his council of ministers and 1934 when Daniel Salamanca was ousted in favor of his vice president, José Luis Tejada Sorzano. Finally, some supporters of Evo Morales claim that he was ousted by a coup d'état and that the presidency of Jeanine Áñez was an unconstitutional succession of power. However, this is disputed.
There are seven living former presidents. The most recent to die was Luis García Meza, on 29 April 2018.
Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Jaime Paz Zamora and Rodrigo Paz Pereira are related.
Presidents The Royal Audience of Charcas, or Republic of Bolivar (1825–1826)
+ Heads of state of The Royal Audience of Charcas, or Republic of Bolívar (1825–1826) No.Portrait PresidentTook OfficeLeft OfficeDuration PartyElectionRef. and Notes–José Mariano Serrano(1788-1852)Independent ––Antonio Joséde SucreIndependent –1Simón BolívarIndependentElected by the2Antonio Joséde SucreIndependentReceived commandfrom Bolívar
Bolivian Republic (1826-1868)
+ Presidents of the Bolivian Republic (1826–1868) No.PortraitPresidentTook OfficeLeft OfficeDuration PartyElectionVice PresidentRef. and Notes–Casimiro OlañetaIndependent – colspan="2" rowspan="2" 2Antonio Joséde SucreIndependentElected by the General Constituent CongressElected by the General Constituent CongressVacant3José María Pérezde UrdinineaMilitaryReceived command from SucreVacant4José Miguelde VelascoMilitaryReceived command from SucreVacant 12 August 182818 December 1828Elected by the General Constituent CongressHimself; charged with State Administration–José Ramón de LoayzaIndependentElected by the General AssemblyHimself; charged with State Administration.5Pedro Blanco Soto26 December 18281 January 1829(†)IndependentReceived command from LoayzaJosé Ramón de Loayza4José Miguel de VelascoIndependentElected by the Constituent CongressHimself; charged with State Administration.6Andrés de Santa CruzIndependentReceived Comand from VelascoJosé Miguel de VelascoElected by the General Consitutent AssemblyElected by the General Consitutent AssemblyElected by the parish electoral boardsMariano Enrique CalvoElected by the Tapacarí, Huaura, and Sicuani Congresses–Mariano Enrique Calvo Independent –Himself; charged with State Administration.Office Vacant 17–22 February 1839.4José Miguelde Velasco22 February 183916 June 1839MilitaryInstalled by coup d'étatVacant16 June 183915 August 1840 Elected by theGeneral Constituent Congress colspan="2" rowspan="4" 15 August 184010 June 1841 Elected by theGeneral Constituent Congress 7Sebastián Ágreda10 June 18419 July 1841MilitaryInstalled by coup d'état8MarianoEnrique Calvo9 July 184122 September 1841IndependentReceived commandfrom ÁgredaOffice vacant 22–27 September 1841.9José Ballivián27 September 184123 April 1843MilitaryInstallled by coup d'état rowspan="18" colspan="2" 23 April 184315 August 1844Elected by the National Convention15 August 184423 December 1847 1844 10Eusebio Guilarte23 December 18472 January 1848IndependentConstitutional succession4José Miguel de Velasco18 January 184812 September 1848MilitaryInstallled by coup d'état Elected by the Extraordinary Congress–José María Linares12 October 18486 December 1848IndependentReceived command from Velasco11Manuel Isidoro Belzu6 December 184815 August 1850MilitaryInstallled by coup d'état15 August 18507 September 185018507 September 185016 July 1851Dictatorship declared16 July 185115 August 1855Constitutional freedoms restored12Jorge Córdova15 August 18559 September 1857Independent185513José María Linares9 September 185714 January 1861IndependentInstallled by coup d'état–Government Junta14 January 18614 May 1861MilitaryInstallled by coup d'état14José María de Achá4 May 186115 August 1862IndependentElected by the Constituent National Assembly15 August 186228 December 1864186215Mariano Melgarejo28 December 186415 August 1868MilitaryInstallled by coup d'état15 August 18681 October 18681868
Republic of Bolivia (1868-2009)