Manuel Estrada Cabrera

Manuel José Estrada Cabrera
Estrada Cabrera in 1916
13th President of Guatemala
In office 8 February 1898 – 15 April 1920
Preceded by	José María Reina
Succeeded by	Carlos Herrera
10th Vice President of Guatemala
In office 28 April 1897 – 8 February 1898
President	José María Reina
Preceded by	Manuel Morales Tovar
Succeeded by	Feliciano Aguilar
Personal details
Born	(1857-11-21)21 November 1857 Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Died	24 September 1924(1924-09-24) (aged 66) Guatemala City, Guatemala
Political party	Liberal Party of Guatemala
Spouse	Desideria Ocampo
Occupation	Lawyer

Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he was a dictator who modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, but only via granting concessions to the American-owned United Fruit Company, whose influence on the government was deeply unpopular among the population. Estrada Cabrera used increasingly brutal methods to assert his authority, including armed strike-breaking, and he effectively controlled the general elections. He retained power for 22 years through controlled elections in 1904, 1910, and 1916, and was eventually removed from office when the national assembly declared him mentally incompetent, and he was jailed for corruption. As such, he was the longest-serving leader of Guatemala.^[1]