The vice president of Uruguay is the person with the second-highest position in the executive branch of the Uruguayan government, after the President of Uruguay. The vice president replaces the elected President in case of death or absence. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, president of the Chamber of Senators and the General Assembly.
The president and vice president run on a single ticket submitted by their party. A runoff is held between the top two candidates if no candidate obtains the majority of votes (50%+1). In this case, the candidate who receives a plurality in the runoff wins the election. The current Vice President is Carolina Cosse, who took office on March 1, 2025.
History The position of Vice-President of the Republic was established in the Constitution of 1934. Previously, the President of the Senate assumed the Presidency in case of the absence of the President. The Constitution of 1952 established a 9-member executive council, the National Council of Government, abolishing the figure of the Vice President. The Constitution of 1967 eliminated the National Council of Government and resumed the presidential system, maintaining the figure of the Vice President.
List of vice presidents of Uruguay
No.PortraitNameTerm of office Politicalparty Elections PresidentNotesStartEnd 1Alfredo Navarro(1868–1951) 18 May 1934 19 June 1938Colorado —Gabriel Terra Elected by the 3rd National Constituent Convention. 2César Charlone(1895–1973) 19 June 1938 1 March 1943Colorado1938Alfredo Baldomir 3Alberto Guani(1877–1956) 1 March 1943 1 March 1947Colorado1942Juan José de Amézaga 4Luis Batlle Berres(1897–1964) 1 March 1947 2 August 1947Colorado1946Tomás Berreta Assumed the presidency after the death of Tomás Berreta. 5 Alfeo Brum(1898–1972) 2 August 1947 1 March 1951Colorado —Luis Batlle Berres Assumed the Vice Presidency as first senator of the most voted party. 1 March 1951 1 March 1952Colorado1950Andrés Martínez Trueba The post of President and Vice President were replaced by the National Council of Government. colspan=8 National Council of Government 6Jorge Pacheco Areco(1920–1998) 1 March 1967 6 December 1967Colorado1966Óscar Diego Gestido Assumed the presidency after the death of Óscar Diego Gestido. 7Alberto Abdala(1920–1986) 6 December 1967 1 March 1972Colorado —Jorge Pacheco Areco Assumed the Vice Presidency as first senator of the most voted party. 8Jorge Sapelli(1926–1996) 1 March 1972 27 June 1973Colorado1971Juan María Bordaberry Ousted from office by a coup d'état. colspan=8 Civic-military dictatorship 9 Enrique Tarigo(1927–2002) 1 March 1985 1 March 1990Colorado1984Julio María Sanguinetti 10Gonzalo Aguirre Ramírez(1940–2021) 1 March 1990 1 March 1995National1989Luis Alberto Lacalle 11Hugo Batalla(1926–1998) 1 March 1995 3 October 1998Colorado1994Julio María Sanguinetti Died in office. 12Hugo Fernández Faingold(1947–2025) 3 October 1998 1 March 2000Colorado — Assumed the Vice Presidency as first senator of the most voted party. 13Luis Hierro López(1947–) 1 March 2000 1 March 2005Colorado1999Jorge Batlle 14Rodolfo Nin Novoa(1948–) 1 March 2005 1 March 2010Broad Front2004Tabaré Vázquez 15Danilo Astori(1940–2023) 1 March 2010 1 March 2015Broad Front2009José Mujica 16Raúl Sendic Rodríguez(1962–) 1 March 2015 13 September 2017Broad Front2014Tabaré Vázquez Resigned. 17Lucía Topolansky(1944–) 13 September 2017 1 March 2020 Broad Front — Assumed the Vice Presidency as second senator of the most voted party, as the first senator of the most voted party, José Mujica, can only be President or Vice President until 5 years after his term ends. 18Beatriz Argimón(1961–) 1 March 2020 1 March 2025National2019Luis Lacalle Pou Became the first woman elected to this position. 19Carolina Cosse(1961–) 1 March 2025 IncumbentBroad Front2024Yamandú Orsi
Trivia After decades of exclusively male presence, since 13 September 2017 to date (for ), the vice-presidency has been held by women without interruption: Lucía Topolansky (the first woman to ever hold the position, in her case, following the resignation of Raúl Sendic), Beatriz Argimón (the first woman directly elected to the position), and Carolina Cosse (in office since 1 March 2025). As of , no openly LGBTQ person has ever held office as vice president. César Charlone (5 October 1895 – 8 May 1973) was the youngest vice president to take office (aged ). Lucía Topolansky (born 25 September 1944) was the oldest vice president to take office (aged ). César Charlone was the vice president who lived the longest after leaving office (); he died at the age of . Danilo Astori (23 April 1940 – 10 November 2023) was the vice president who lived the shortest time after completing his term (). But at the same time, he was the longest-lived: he died at the age of . Alberto Abdala (8 April 1920 – 13 January 1986) was the shortest-lived vice president: he died at the age of . Alfeo Brum (22 March 1898 – 25 February 1972) was the last vice president born in the 19th century. Jorge Pacheco Areco (9 April 1920 – 29 July 1998) was the first vice president born in the 20th century. As of , Hugo Batalla (11 July 1926 – 3 October 1998) has been the only vice president to have died in office. Further, he was the last vice president who died in the 20th century. Enrique Tarigo (15 September 1927 – 14 December 2002) has been the only vice president who had not held any public office before being elected to the vice-presidency, nor did he hold any elected office again afterwards. Further, he was the first vice president who died in the 21st century. Rodolfo Nin Novoa (born 25 January 1948) and Carolina Cosse (born 25 December 1961) are, to date, the only vice presidents who were previously intendants of a department (Cerro Largo and Montevideo, respectively). Raúl Sendic (born 29 August 1962) was the only vice president to be forced to resign amid a political scandal. Jorge Sapelli (8 March 1926 – 13 January 1996) was the only vice president to resign in opposition to a coup d'état, in 1973.
See also List of current vice presidents History of Uruguay Politics of Uruguay
References
External links www.presidencia.gub.uy