Sanguinetti, Julio María [key], 1936–, Uruguayan political leader, president of Uruguay (1985–90, 1995–2000). A lawyer and journalist, and a member of the centrist Colorado party, Sanguinetti served in the House of Representatives (1962–73) and as minister of industry and commerce (1969–71) and of education and culture (1972–73) until the military took power in 1973. He again entered politics with the return of civilian government in the 1980s, becoming head of the Colorado party in 1981 and participating in the negotiations that led to the Naval Club Pact (1984) and a gradual return to civilian government. As the first president to be elected after the end of the military government, he released the remaining political prisoners, restored all constitutional rights, and granted amnesty to the military. The last cost the Colorado party the presidency in the 1989 elections, when Sanguinetti was barred from succeeding himself. He won a second term as president in 1994.
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