Fermín Toro

Fermín del Toro y Blanco
Julián Castro
Preceded by	Wenceslao Urrutia
Succeeded by	Miguel Herrera
Personal details
Born	(1806-07-14)14 July 1806 Caracas, Venezuela
Spouse	María de las Mercedes de Tovar y Rodríguez del Toro
Profession	Writer, novelist, politician, diplomat
Signature

Fermín Toro y Blanco (Caracas- El Valle, 14 July 1806 -

humanist, politician, diplomat and author.

Biography

Within his public life he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, twice

he signed in 1846 the Ratification of the Treaty of Recognition of Venezuela's Independence by Spain, the former colonial metropolis. Subsequently, a ball on his honour was offered by the Queen. He also negotiated border delimitations with Colombia and relevant political issues with the United States, European capitals, and Brazil.

He is also remembered for his writings and oratorical skills. Even though he was the author of the first Venezuelan novel he is better known for his economic and political essays. The relevance attained by his essays is shown by the fact that he was quoted by Leo Tolstoy in Resurrection. He was also active as a philologist and a botanist. He is considered as the best orator in Venezuela's parliamentary history.

Within Venezuela's history, he epitomizes the strength of moral character against the oppressive force of government, as expressed by his stance against the attack on Congress ordered on 24 January 1848 by President

. All Venezuelans learn in school the famous phrase by which he responded to Monagas' envoys, which wanted him to validate the violation of Congress: "Go and tell General Monagas that my dead body can be carried, but Fermin Toro doesn't prostitute himself".

Death and legacy

His remains were located at the

on 23 April 1876. Several universities and schools have been named in his honour, including the Liceo Fermin Toro, Venezuela's largest and more prestigious public school. He has been the object of several biographies. One of Caracas main avenues is named after him, while his statue is at the entrance of the Liceo Fermin Toro. The Venezuelan National Congress has four lateral squares, each of which bears the name of a famous parliamentarian, with one of them honoring him.

Family

He belonged to the family of the

.

Works

Among his publications are the following ones:

• Essay
  • Reflexiones sobre la Ley del 10 de abril de 1834.
  • Los estudios filosóficos en Venezuela, Europa y América
  • Cuestión de imprenta.
  • Descripción de los honores fúnebres consagrados a los restos del Libertador Simón Bolívar (1842)
  • Discurso ante la Convención de Valencia (1858)
  • Ensayo gramatical sobre el idioma guajiro, (the manuscript was compiled by Adolf Ernst in 1872)
• Novels
  • Los Mártires (1842).
  • La Viuda de Corinto (1837)
  • La Sibila de los Andes.

Institutions named after Fermín Toro

• Universidad Fermín Toro, Barquisimeto ([1])
• Colegio Universitario Fermín Toro, Barquisimeto ([2])
• Liceo Fermín Toro, Caracas (es:Liceo Fermín Toro)
• Instituto de Estudios Parliamentarios Fermín Toro

See also

• List of ministers of foreign affairs of Venezuela

References

External links

• Discurso ante la Convención (1858) Discurso de Fermín Toro en el portal de Venezuela Analítica.
• Los Mártires de Fermín Toro. Primera novela venezolana^{[permanent dead link]} Análisis de Luis Inigo Madrigal en el portal del instituto Cervantes (Centro Virtual Cervantes).
• Fermín Toro: Teoría racional de la sociedad y republicanismo cívico Investigación de Rafael García Torres para la revista Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana de la
  Universidad del Zulia
  . Trabajo ubicado en el portal de la Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. En ese trabajo se bosqueja las ideas de Fermín Toro acerca de un modelo de desarrollo de Venezuela sobre bases libertarias, justas y de igualdad social.
• Discurso ante la Convención (1858)

Political offices
Preceded by Wenceslao Urrutia	45th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela 14 April 1858 – 17 June 1859	Succeeded by Miguel Herrera