List of heads of state of Santa Rosa

This article lists all heads of state of Santa Rosa.

List of heads of state

First Republic (1819–1859)

№	President		Term of office			Political Party	Elected
	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days
1		Juan David Beldad	19 January 1819	5 May 1832	4856	Independent	1820, '24, '28
			First President of Santa Rosa. Selected by Congress to be provisional president after independence in 1819. Elected uncontested in first national election in 1820. Appointed a "national unity" cabinet of both Republicans and Confederates. Established a national army. Established foreign relations with many European nations. Retired in 1832. Considered a precedent-forger for the office of president.
2		Pablo Ignacio de la Cruz	5 May 1832	5 May 1840	2922	Republican	1832, '36
			Previously a Congressman and became economic minister in 1824. Elected in 1832 after a contentious campaign. Consolidated Republican political power. Established the first National Bank of Santa Rosa and the independent Santa Rosan peso. Funded the establishment of new military schools across the country. Created a defensive alliance with San Cristobal. Did not run in the 1840 election.
3		Vicente Silva	5 May 1840	7 March 1843	1036	Republican	1840
			Foreign minister during Cruz's term. Advocated for the abolition of slavery. Got involved in a scandal regarding mismanagement of government funds. Witnessed his party's fall from power in the Congress. Refused to work with Confederates. Died in a shipwreck while returning home from a visit to Toluca.
4		Filipe Loyola Vivas	7 March 1843	5 May 1844	425	Republican	–
			Vice President under Silva; assumed power upon his death. Suffered from very low popularity. Attempted to nationalize failing sugar plantations on the west side of the island, but was met with fierce resistance in Congress. Lost the 1844 election by a wide margin to the Confederate Party.
5		Enrique Gabler	5 May 1844	4 May 1859	5477	Confederate	1844, '48, '52, '56
			First President from the Confederate Party. Elected by a wide majority and supported by his party's domination in Congress for most of his terms. Instituted wide decentralization reforms, including allowing local elections of provincial governors. Favored trade with the Commonwealth and Vanavoy. Repealed measures by previous administrations that inhibited slavery and private sugar plantations, but retained the slave trade ban nonetheless. Contested with a Republican-dominated judiciary over tax reform laws. Enacted policy that made it simpler for white Europeans and Americans to migrate to Santa Rosa and acquire citizenship. Cancelled the defensive pact with San Cristobal after the latter performed aggressive naval maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea. Deviated with his party by calling for more funding for the navy. Ran uncontested in the 1852 election. Promulgated a new constitution in 1853 that institutionalized his decentralization reforms and split the Congress into thirds with the Clase system. Continued a diplomatic clash with San Cristobal that eventually culminated in the First Caribbean War in 1857. Despite his victory in the war, it's negatives outweighed it's positives; the army and navy was left in tatters, the cities and poor countryside were ravaged, many slave revolts broke out and Santa Rosa had lost one of it's greatest trade partners. Despite his loss of confidence by both his party and the electorate at the sunset of his fourth term, Gabler refused to step down. He was confronted in a coup d'état and forced to resign.
6		Emigdio Aquino	4 May 1859	7 May 1859	3	Confederate	–
			Vice President during Gabler's final term. Secretly collaborated with General Bautista Ortiz to remove Gabler from office. Immediately assumed power after Gabler's forced resignation. Intending to retain power, he appointed General Ortiz to fill the vacancy of the Vice Presidency. However, one day after the General was confirmed by the Congress, Aquino faced the same fate as Gabler, and was forced to resign at gunpoint, handing the presidency over to Ortiz.

First Dictatorship (1859–1882)

№	President		Term of office			Political Party	Elected
	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days
7		General Bautista Ortiz	7 May 1859	14 February 1882	8319	Military	–
			Primarily maneuvered Vice President Aquino's overthrow of President Gabler, then orchestrated an overthrow of Aquino only days later. Despite being born into wealth, having a lengthy military career, and leading the armed forces during the First Caribbean War, Ortiz presented himself as a populist political outsider, promising to elevate the lower classes and tear down the "corrupt political establishment." Ruled in an authoritarian fashion. Suspended the constitution, dissolved the Congress, and purged the judiciary. Banned all political opposition. Appointed a cabinet consisting of both Republicans and military officers. Promoted a nationalist and corporatist economic agenda (nicknamed Ortismo). Enforced mandatory conscription in the armed forces. Unilaterally banned slavery, ordering the liberation of all slaves in Santa Rosa. Nationalized many sugar plantations in the west half of the island, which unexpectedly caused the sugar market to boom again. Pursued an infrastructure and urbanization overhaul of Ciudad Beldad, seeking to make it the capital city of central American trade. Opposed San Cristobal. Seized the wealth of several wealthy politicians, bankers, and other elites, using the money to fund the military and wealth redistribution programs. Invaded the small island country of San Luis in 1869, kicking off the Second Caribbean War, which eventually ended months later in a stalemate. Survived an assassination attempt in 1872. Afterwards, Ortiz shifted his policy towards isolationism, political Catholicism, and traditionalism, sacking and replacing many of his ministers. Suffering his lowest popularity at the end of the 1870s, and with the possibility of a revolution breaking out to overthrow him and restore democracy, Ortiz declared free elections for Congress and President to take place in 1882. Did not contest in the 1882 presidential election and suffered a fatal stroke months before it took place.
8		Captain Poncio Toledano	14 February 1882	25 March 1882	39	Military	–
			Chief of staff and designated successor to President Ortiz. Continued the transition to democracy rather than pour gasoline on the fire. Did not contest in the 1882 election. Peacefully handed over power to president-elect Rolando Merlo on 5 May 1882.

Second Republic (1882–1909)

№	President		Term of office			Political Party	Elected
	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days
9		Rolando Merlo	25 March 1882	25 March 1890	2922	Freedom	1882, '86
			Formerly imprisoned political activist released in 1878. Campaigned for president on the Partido de Libertad ticket in 1882, being the first person to be elected president by popular vote in 24 years. Released all political prisoners and legalized all political parties. Privatized many publicly owned businesses with the aim of paying off government debts. Promulgated a new constitution in 1883, mostly based on the one authored during Gabler's administration, with additional articles that would define the presidential line of succession and explicitly forbids the executive branch from dissolving the legislature. Instituted electoral reforms that would expand voting rights to all free, white/Mestizo, male citizens. Signed an Instrument of Amity with San Cristobal, normalizing relations and reopening the lucrative bilateral trade. Purged the army of old officers loyal to the old regime, replacing them with young and liberal officers. Decreased tariffs with other Central American nations. Established a friendly relationship with the Texan Confederacy. Fell from popularity by 1890, losing the election.
10		Maxime Switzer	25 March 1890	25 March 1894	1461	Ortism	1890
			Born into a wealthy Prussiaholmer family with extensive military ties. Previously served in the Ortiz government as a defense ministry official. Recognized as a national hero following his decisive victory in the Battle of Cabo San Domingo. Elected president on the Partido de Ortizmo ticket in 1888, defeating incumbent Merlo. Forcibly un-purged the military and reappointed "old guard" officers. Raised national taxes with the intention of establishing a national rail network on the east side of the island. Invited Texan naval advisors. Attempted to wind back Merlo's constitution but was blocked by the legislature. Entered a military alliance with Quito to counter Barnetian influence in the region. Attempted to purchase Commonwealth colonies in the Caribbean Sea, but could not afford to foot any of the bills. Narrowly lost re-election in 1894.
11		Raimundo Maçon	25 March 1894	25 March 1898	1461	Soc Dem	1894
			Vice President during Merlo's final term. Defeated Switzer in 1894 election after uniting the left-wing opposition parties under one party. Passed comprehensive voting reforms, amending the constitution to grant suffrage to black citizens and women. Funded the development of new hospitals and other medical centers in particularly poor and undeveloped areas of the island. Passed land reform legislation to diversify the ownership of land previously belonging to the state and wealthy capitalists. Taxed foreign capital. Placed further bars on immigration. Chose to not run for re-election in 1898 due to illness.
12		Francisco de Kaulak	25 March 1898	25 March 1906	2921	Soc Dem	1898, '02
			President of the Congress from 1894 to 1898. Helped progress Maçon's legislative agenda. Elected president under the PSD ticket in 1898 with a wide margin.