José Ballivián (1805-1852) was a Bolivian patriot officer in the movement for independence from Spain, defended his country from invasion from Peru, and was president of Bolivia from 1841 to 1847.

José Ballivián was born to an aristocratic Spanish family in La Paz on Nov. 30, 1805. After a routine, local education, he entered the military as a cadet in the Spanish army stationed in Bolivia (Alto Peru) during the South American revolutions for independence. By 1820 he had changed sides, and he spent the next 5 years fighting for the patriot cause under Simón Bolivar and other great war heroes. At war's end in 1825, Ballivián was a young but respected colonel.

Little is known of Ballivián after independence until he helped lead a rebellion against the confederation of Peru and Bolivia under a single executive. The revolt failed, but the confederation...