Ismael Montes Gamboa (5 October 1861 – 16 October 1933) was a Bolivian general and political figure who served as the 26th president of Bolivia twice nonconsecutively from 1904 to 1909 and from 1913 to 1917. During his first term, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Chile was signed on October 20, 1904. Early life and military career Montes was born on October 5, 1861 in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. He belonged to a wealthy land owning family. Montes was the son of General Clodomiro Montes and Tomasa Gamboa. In 1878, he continued his higher studies by entering the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), but due to the occupation by the Chilean army of the Bolivian town of Antofagasta on February 14, 1879, Montes decided to leave his studies and enlist as a private in the Murillo Regiment, then belonging to the "Bolivian Legion". In 1880, Montes' regiment was ordered to participate in the Battle of Alto de la Alianza, the last great battle between Bolivia and Chile in the War of the Pacific, in which he participated and barely survived, finishing the battle seriously wounded. Incidentally, he was captured by the Chilean army and remained as a prisoner for the remainder of war. Upon his return to Bolivia, due to his heroism during the battle, Montes was directly promoted to the rank of captain by the government. Once Bolivia's participation in the war came to an end in 1880, Montes began working as an instructor in the Bolivian army. However, in 1884, Montes decided to retire from the army to continue with his ​​law studies at the UMSA, which he had left at the beginning of the war. He graduated with a law degree on June 12, 1886. Political career In 1890, at the age of twenty-nine, Montes was elected as a Deputy representing the Liberal Party (Bolivia), however his ideology collided with the prevailing conservatism of the time. Montes was elected as the head of Civil Law at the faculty of law in the UMSA. As a deputy, Montes was known for his elegant and eloquent personality, making him a perfect partner to the vociferous and mercurial Atanasio de Urioste Velasco, another staunch liberal of the time. The two remained friends and allies until the end of their lives. The Civil War of 1898-1899 Prelude and the "Radicatory Law"