ABSTRACT
Hugo Bánzer Suárez (1926-2001), de facto President of Bolivia from 1971 to 1978, was born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The son of a military hero of the Chaco War and the grandson of German immigrants, he was educated at the Military College in La Paz, and was chosen for further training at the School of the Americas, Panama Canal Zone, in 1955 and the Armoured Cavalry School, Fort Hood, Texas, USA, in 1960, reaching the rank of colonel in 1961. He served as Minister of Education in the Government of Gen. René Barrientos until posted as military attaché to Washington, DC, in 1967. On the death of Barrientos in 1969 he was recalled to serve briefly (1969-70) as director of the Military College.
