Florencio Armodio Arosemena Guillen ( Spanish: Florencio Harmodio Arosemena Guillén , September 17, 1872 , Panama , Colombia - August 30, 1945 , New York , USA ) - Panamanian engineer and statesman, President of Panama (1928-1931).
| Florencio Armodio Arosemena | |||||||
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| Spanish Florencio Harmodio Arosemena | |||||||
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| Predecessor | Rodolfo Chiari Robles | ||||||
| Successor | Armodio Arias Madrid , acting | ||||||
| Birth | September 17, 1872 Panama , Colombia | ||||||
| Death | August 30, 1945 (72 years old) New York , USA | ||||||
| The consignment | Liberal Party | ||||||
| Education | University of Heidelberg | ||||||
Biography
He belonged to the influential Arosemen family, whose representatives Pablo Arosemena and Juan Arosemena became the 5th and 23rd presidents of Panama.
At age 11, he was sent by his father to Germany, where in 1895 he graduated from the faculty of engineers at the University of Heidelberg and began his career in the specialty. He worked in the field of railway construction with the German government, as well as in Portugal and Turkey. He was invited by the Cuban authorities to build the local Central Railway. Later he moved to Ecuador, where he participated in the design of the railway from Guayaquil to Quito, the most technically complex project in the world of that time. Then he returned to Panama. Here he built famous objects: the National Palace, the National Institute, the National Theater of Panama, the town hall, the bridge over the Santa Maria River and the railway line from Puerto Armuelles to Concepcion.
Politics was not his main activity. However, unexpectedly in October 1928, he was elected as successor to Rodolfo Chiari as president of Panama. In this post, he paid special attention to the development of the system of public works and the reduction of public spending. In January 1931 he was forced to resign due to the national financial crisis that arose the day before.
He was fluent in seven languages (Spanish, English, German, Turkish, French, Italian and Portuguese) and was awarded state awards by several countries in Europe and America. He was also a lifetime friend of the outstanding physicist Albert Einstein .