Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro (August 12, 1889 – April 30, 1933) was a high-ranking Peruvian army officer, revolutionary, nationalist and politician who served as the 41st President of Peru, from 1931 to 1933 as well as interim president of Peru, officially as the president of the Provisional Government Junta, from 1930 to 1931. On August 22, 1930, as a lieutenant-colonel, he overturned the eleven-year dictatorship of Augusto B. Leguía after a coup d'état in Arequipa.
Following Leguía's resignation, Manuel Ponce was interim president until Sánchez was chosen on August 27. The new president flew to Lima and himself served as provisional president until the military with whom he had effected the coup forced him into exile after six months in office.
Having experienced multiple assassination attempts and coup attempts during his time in power, he was ultimately assassinated on April 30, 1933 by Abelardo de Mendoza, a member of the suppressed APRA Party.
Early life
Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro was born in Piura on August 12, 1889, to Antonio Sánchez and Rosa Cerro. Of Mestizo descent, he allegedly also had African ancestry through enslaved Malagasy ancestors in Piura.
Early career
Luis Miguel Sánchez was wounded in five places and lost three fingers of his left hand when he seized the spitting muzzle of a machine gun (with his bare hands) and turned it against government forces during the overthrowing of President Guillermo Billinghurst, in 1914.
In 1921 he was again shot and injured when captured in Lima, in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow President Leguía. During his exile abroad he served with the Spanish Foreign Legion in Morocco, where he was wounded. He got a post at the ministry of war in 1924. He also served with the Royal Army of Italy in 1925, and took advanced military studies in France in 1926.
He was permitted to return in 1928 by President Leguía.