Here’s the story behind the shortest presidency ever.
Pedro Lascuráin was the Foreign Minister of Mexico under President Madero. During Mexico’s coup of 1913 though, President Madero was overthrown by Genral Victorio Huerta and, under the 1857 Constitution of Mexico, the next in line for the presidency were by order:
1) The Vice-President
2) The Attorney General
3) The Foreign Minister (Pedro Lascuráin)
4) The Interior Minister
But, along with President Madero, Huerta had ousted the Vice-President and the Attorney General. That means that the next in line for the presidency was Pedro Lascuráin as the Foreign Minister. In order to give the coup some legality, General Huerta had Lascuráin assume the presidency and them appoint him as his interior minister and then resign. The presidency thus passed to Huerta since, as an Interior Minister now, he was the fourth in line.
Yet to this day, Lascuráin’s presidency is the shortest in history and it was somewhere between 15 to 60 minutes.
If you like what you read, then you will definitely love this one: Which U.S. President Grew Marijuana On His Lands?
Photo: George Grantham Bain / Library of Congress
Widget not in any sidebars
