Javier Prado and Ugarteche (1871-1921), politician and writer. Son of former president Mariano Ignacio Prado and Magdalena Ugarteche. He was born on December 3, 1871 and completed his higher studies at the University of San Marcos (1886), obtaining doctorates there in Letters (1891) and in Law (1894), with the theses The evolution of the philosophical idea in history and the legislative project to reform the executive trial, respectively. Incorporated to the San Marcos chair in the Faculty of Letters, whose deanship he came to hold between 1907 and 1915, he was in charge of courses in Castilian Literature (1892-1897), Aesthetics and History of Art (1896-1897) and Modern Philosophy (since 1888) .
Political positions of Javier Prado and Ugarteche
He participated in the renewal of the Civil Party from the board of directors during the government of Manuel Candamo (1904); later he was plenipotentiary minister in Argentina (1905) and foreign minister (1906). From this position he normalized relations with Chile and defended the Peruvian position for the celebration of the Tacna and Arica plebiscite; he also negotiated a boundary treaty with Brazil and agreements with Ecuador and Colombia.
He was a senator for Lima (1907-1913) and in charge of the diplomatic section of his Chamber (1908-1912). During the first government of Leguía he presided over the Council of Ministers, simultaneously holding the Government portfolio (1910) . As president of the board of directors of the Civil Party, he was among the organizers of the coup that put an end to the populist government of Guillermo Billinghurst (1915).
Works by Javier Prado and Ugarteche
Being José Pardo rector of the University of San Marcos, he had to leave the position when he was elected for the second time for the presidency of the Republic and was replaced by Javier Prado (1915-1920). In said cloister, he created the Archaeological Museum and the Natural History Museum that today bears his name . During Leguía's “Oncenio” he was a senator for Lima (1919) and president of the Constitutional Commission of the Constituent Congress.
He was among the founders of the Historical Institute of Peru (1905) and belonged to the Peruvian Academy of Language, the American Institute of International Law and the Geographical Society of Lima . From his youthful university theses, a positivist orientation was noted, which led him to criticize metaphysics and his adherence to evolutionism. He wrote on multiple topics in philosophy, pedagogy, history, criminal law, international law, and literature. He published The genius (1888), The positive method in Criminal Law (1890), The evolution of the philosophical idea in history (1891), The social state of Peru during the Spanish domination (1894 and 1941), The problem of teaching (1915) and the genius of the Castilian language and literature and its characters in the history of Peru (1918). Regarding education, he once stated that "it should be a bond of association, solidarity, sympathy, and human kindness." He died in Lima on June 25, 1921.