Known to date as a very popular figure in Uruguay, Alberto Eduardo Abdala was born in 1920 in the city of Maldonado where he attended his primary and secondary education. He moved to Montevideo to continue with his higher education, earning a Ph.D. in Law and Social Sciences in 1946 from the Universidad de la República, and integrating shortly after in the teaching body of the same faculty as a Professor of Roman Law.
This Lebanese descendant was known across his career as an attorney, a politician, and a painter. He initiated his political career at an early age, adhering as a member to the Colorado Party that he climbed and excelled in.
In 1950, he was elected deputy, a position he reconquered four years later. In 1956, he was appointed Interior Minister by the majority of the second National Council of Government, a position he held for a year.
In the elections of 1958, in which the National Party triumphed, he was elected senator, a position he held until 1963. Between that year and 1967, he joined the last National Council of Government on behalf of the Colorado minority.
It is said that in 1966, the Colorado Party did not have an “obvious” choice for candidacy to the Presidential Elections which was to take place in November of that year, following the death of their leader, former President Luis Batlle.
As per popular internal votes, Abdala would be the presidential candidate representing this political party along with Jorge Batlle, the son of Luis Batlle. Ultimately, Abdala refused to run for President and Jorge Batlle was elected in 1966.
After a long and active political career, Alberto Abdala, being the first senator on “Unidad y Reforma” Senate list (the most voted Senate list within the Colorado Party), became Vice President.
Abdala diverged from many political decisions taken by the administration which preceded him, and he filled his position with resilience despite not always making the most popular decisions.
He considered a run for the Presidency in the 1971 Presidential Elections, but he also pulled out of the running. He went on to support a new bid for the Presidency by Jorge Batlle who was running for the second successive time.
Abdala was the seventh Vice-President of Uruguay. That office dates back to the year 1934, when César Charlone became Uruguay’s first Vice-President.
In 1972, Abdala was succeeded as Vice President of Uruguay by Jorge Sapelli, whose policies and administrative changes to the already established structures made him quite unpopular, leading him to step down. That caused the post of Vice President to be left inactive for many years – and subsequently making Abdala one of Uruguay’s most memorable politicians to-date.
Dr. Alberto Abdala died of natural causes in his home in Montevideo in 1986. He is still remembered as a quite popular political figure in Uruguay.