José Mariano Salas
José Mariano Salas Barbosa (11 May 1797 – 24 December 1867) was a Mexican soldier and politician who served twice as interim president of Mexico, once in 1846, during the Mexican American War, and once in 1859 during the War of Reform.
José Mariano Salas | |
|---|---|
Photograph of Salas, c. 1865 | |
| 16th President of Mexico | |
| In office 5 August – 23 December 1846 | |
| Preceded by | Nicolás Bravo |
| Succeeded by | Valentín Gómez Farías |
| Provisional President of Mexico by the Plan of Tacubaya | |
| In office 21 January – 2 February 1859 | |
| Preceded by | Manuel Robles Pezuela |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Miramón |
| Member of the Regency of the Second Mexican Empire | |
| In office 11 July 1863 – 10 April 1864 | |
| Monarch | Maximilian I of Mexico |
| Succeeded by | Maximilian I of Mexico |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 May 1797 Mexico City, Viceroyalty of New Spain |
| Died | 24 December 1867 (aged 70) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Josefa Cardeña |
| Awards | Order of Guadalupe |
He was a known partisan of Santa Anna, and his first presidency which occurred during the Mexican-American War involved Salas serving as interim president for Santa Anna, after the overthrow of Mariano Paredes, while Santa Anna returned from an exile. Nonetheless, Salas still governed for a few months and energetically passed measures to unite the country and promote the war effort. At Santa Anna's behest, Salas also restored the Constitution of 1824, thus ending the Centralist Republic of Mexico which had been in effect since 1835.
His second presidency during the Reform War was much less eventful. After an election, he was assigned to the post while president-elect Miguel Miramon arrived and only remained in power for a few days. As the Second Mexican Empire was being established in 1863, the Assembly of Notables elected him as part of the executive triumvirate that invited Maximilian of Habsburg to take the throne.