Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (B. 1795 – D. 1830), also known as the  "Grand Marshal of Ayacucho", was a Venezuelan independence leader who served as the fourth President of Peru and as President of Bolivia. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.

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Due to his influence on geopolitical affairs of Latin America, a number of notable localities on the continent now bear Sucre's name. These include the eponymous capital of Bolivia, the Venezuelan state, the department of Colombia and both the old and new airports of Ecuador's capital Quito. Additionally, many schools, streets and districts across the region bear his name as well.

 

In 1814Sucre joined the fight for South American independence from Spain. The Battle of Pichincha took place on May 24, 1822, on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, near Quito in what is now Ecuador. The encounter, fought in the context of the Spanish American wars of independence, pitted a Patriot army under Sucre against a Royalist army. The defeat of the Royalist forces brought about the liberation of Quito and secured the independence of the provinces belonging to the Real Audiencia de Quito, the Spanish colonial administrative jurisdiction from which the Republic of Ecuador would eventually emerge.

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After the foundation of Bolivia, he became also the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Bolivia, which he created the following day on the basis of the guerrilla forces and active Patriot armies stationed at the time of the declaration. He gave the young republic its first Constitution in 1828.