José Manuel de la Peña y Peña (10 March 1789 – 2 January 1850) was a Mexican lawyer and judge, who served two non-consecutive, but closely following terms as the president of Mexico during the Mexican American War. In contrast to many other nineteenth century Mexican presidents, he never served in the military, instead coming from a distinguished legal background. He was foreign minister and a member of the peace party whom under the presidency of Jose Joaquin Herrera sought to avoid a war with the United States at a time of rising tensions. After hardliners overthrew Herrera and war broke out with disastrous consequences for Mexico, he was elected president twice to two non-consecutive terms in the final months of the war as peace negotiations were being made. Under his administration the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was negotiated and ratified. Early life Peña y Peña was born in the town of Tacuba on 10 March 1789 to a poor family. Upon finishing his primary education he entered the Tridentine Seminary and received high marks and various awards from the departments of grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, and civil and canonical jurisprudence, winning a scholarship along with Manuel Posada y Garduño, the future archbishop of Mexico. He was well distinguished in the practice of jurisprudence, and his teacher Jose Gonzales Retana assured him a promising career. He was admitted to the bar on 16 December 1811 during the Mexican War of Independence, and two years later was named attorney general for the Mexico City Ayuntamiento, a task that he carried out with such notability for the royal government that in 1820 he was awarded with a seat on the Audencia of Quito, but Peña y Peña wished to stay in New Spain and appealed to be granted a seat in one of the Novo-Hispanic Audencias. While this matter was being resolved, Mexico won its independence in September 1821. On May 19, the First Mexican Empire was established with Agustin Iturbide as Emperor. Judicial career Peña y Peña assumed a seat in the Real Audiencia of Mexico handling both civil and criminal cases, and remained in that post until 21 October 1822 when already being a member of the council of state, was named by Emperor Iturbide minister plenipotentiary to Colombia. He was also awarded the Cross of the Order of Guadalupe. He was never able to occupy that post due to the