Benito Juárez was a prominent Mexican politician, military officer, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in 1872. A member of the Liberal Party, he held several significant offices prior to his presidency, including serving as the governor of Oaxaca and as the president of the Supreme Court.
Of Zapotec descent, Juárez was the first Indigenous person to serve as president of Mexico and the first democratically elected Indigenous president in postcolonial America. During his tenure as president, he led the Liberal forces to victory in both the Reform War and the Second French intervention in Mexico.