José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia

José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco, also known as Doctor Francia or to Paraguayans of his time as Karai Guasu, was a lawyer, politician, statesman and the first dictator (1814–1840) of Paraguay following its 1811 independence from the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. His official title was "Supreme and Perpetual Dictator of Paraguay", but he was popularly known as El Supremo.