Biography of Francisco Bertrand Barahona
He was born in Juticalpa (1866) and died in La Ceiba (1926). A physician and politician, he graduated from the University of El Salvador. He served as a Deputy for Olancho during the administration of Policarpo Bonilla. In 1906, he represented Honduras in peace conferences held by Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras aboard the U.S. ship Marblehead, mediated by the Presidents of the United States and Mexico.
In the negotiations held in Puerto Cortés aboard the U.S. warship Tacoma, Bertrand was chosen as the provisional replacement for President Miguel R. Dávila, assuming the position in that year. In February 1912, he handed over the presidency to General Manuel Bonilla and was elected Vice-President and Minister of Governance. Upon Bonilla’s death, Bertrand succeeded him in power in March 1913.
He won the elections of 1915 and was elected President for the 1916-1920 term, which he could not complete due to the armed uprising that occurred in 1919 when he tried to impose a relative as his successor. Additionally, diplomatic pressures from U.S. diplomat Thomas Sambola Jones forced him to step down from power. He left Honduras and settled in New Orleans, returning to his country in 1926.
According to Alfonso Guillén Zelaya, «he led a government of positive conciliation, promised electoral freedom, but there was imposition and after imposition, bloodshed.»
