Odría, Manuel [key], 1897–1974, president of Peru (1948–56). A conservative general, he became army chief of staff in 1946 and seized power (1948) after leading an anti-APRA coup that forced Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre to seek asylum. He was legally elected president in 1950. With dictatorial methods, some brutal, he consolidated his power and instituted extensive economic reforms. In 1956, Odría permitted an election and went into temporary voluntary exile when Manuel Prado was chosen as president. Odría ran unsuccessfully for president in 1962.
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