Victorino de la Plaza y Palacios (2 November 1840 – 2 October 1919) was an Argentine politician and lawyer who served as President of Argentina from 9 August 1914 to 11 October 1916. As the second son of José Roque Mariano de la Plaza Elejalde and Manuela de la Silva Palacios; his older brother, Rafael de la Plaza, was also a politician and acted as governor of Santiago del Estero Province. He studied law in Buenos Aires and obtained his doctorate in 1868, became secretary of Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield and collaborated on the writing of the Argentine Civil Code, and was Treasury Minister under Nicolás Avellaneda (1876), later Interventor in Corrientes Province (1878) and Foreign Minister (1882) and Treasury (1883–1885) during the first Julio Argentino Roca administration. He was elected vice president for the National Union presided by Roque Sáenz Peña in 1910, and assumed the presidency after the death of Sáenz Peña and governed between 1914 and 1916. He died of pneumonia after retiring from politics. He was the last president of what was called the conservative period of Argentine history. This period began in 1880 and culminated with La Plaza's loss of the presidency to the Radical Civic Union. This was all thanks to the Sáenz Peña Law, which established secret, compulsory voting for all those on the electoral register, thanks to Compulsory military service. Childhood and early life Victorino de La Plaza was born on 2 November 1840, in Payagosta, Salta Province, Argentina. He was the son of Jose Mariano Roque de La Plaza y Elejalde, and Maria Manuela Palacios. His brother was Rafel de La Plaza, who was governor of the province of Santiago del Estero. Upon his Father's death, his mother took charge of raising the Children. Victorino began his scholastic education at an Argentine public school, yet he stayed in that school for a short period of time, because he entered a Franciscan convent. During his childhood he did a little bit of work, he sold newspapers, sweets and empanadas that were prepared by his mother. After this, he began working as an attorney and as a scribe. Subsequently he passed and examination before the Supreme Court of Justice, for which he obtained the title of rotary in 1859. He gained a scholarship granted by the government of the Confederation which allowed him to enter the Colegio de Uruguay. It is unknown exactly when