Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peruvian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (died 1977)

Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado was a Peruvian general who served as the President of Peru after a successful coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency in 1968. Under his presidency, nationalism, as well as left-leaning policies that addressed indigenous Peruvians, such as nationalization or agrarian reform were adopted. These policies were reversed after another coup d'état in 1975 led by his Prime Minister, Francisco Morales Bermúdez.

The president of Peru, officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru, is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Armed Forces and National Police of Peru. The office of president corresponds to the highest magistracy in the country, making the president the highest-ranking public official in Peru.