Alfredo Stroessner (1912 - ) served as President of
Paraguay from 1954 to 1989. He was born in Encarnación on November 3. His name is either spelled Stroessner, Strössner, or in even more Germanised way, Strößner. A soldier rising to the rank of General and veteran of the
Chaco War, he came to power in the aftermath of the 1954
coup against
Federico Chaves[?]. He became sole candidate in many elections. Support from the United States helped keep his regime alive for years. Paraguay was visited by
Pope John Paul II on May 1988. Stroessner refusal of democratic elections and the crumbling of the Soviet Union led to the end of US aid to Stroessner regime. Stroessner's own Colorado Party grew angry with him, and he was deposed on 1989 by a member of the Colorado Party, General
Andrés Rodríguez. Every president of Paraguay since Stroessner has also been from the Colorado party.