| Agustín Gamarra | |
| Order: | 4th and 6th President of Peru |
| Term Start2: | 1 September 1829 |
| Term End2: | 20 December 1833 |
| Vicepresident2: | Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente |
| Predecessor2: | Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente |
| Successor2: | Luis José de Orbegoso |
| Term Start: | 25 August 1838 |
| Term End: | 18 November 1841 |
| Predecessor: | Andrés de Santa Cruz |
| Successor: | Manuel Menéndez |
| Birth Date: | 27 August 1785 |
| Birth Place: | Cuzco, Viceroyalty of Peru, Spanish Empire |
| Death Place: | Ingavi, Bolivia |
| Spouse: | Francisca Zubiaga y Bernales |
| Profession: | Soldier |
| Allegiance: |  Spain Peru |
| Branch: | Royal Army of Peru Peruvian Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1809–1821 1821–1841 |
| Rank: | Colonel (Spain) Grand marshal (Peru) |
| Battles: | Bolivian War of Independence Cuzco Rebellion of 1814 Peruvian War of Independence Gran Colombia–Peru War War of the Confederation Peruvian-Bolivian War of 1841-1842 |
Agustín Gamarra Messia (27 August 1785 – 18 November 1841) was a Peruvian soldier and politician, who served as the 4th and 6th President of Peru.
Gamarra was a Mestizo, being of mixed Spanish and Quechua descent.[1] He had a military life since childhood, battling against the royalist forces. He then joined the cause of Independence as second in command after Andrés de Santa Cruz. He also participated in the Battle of Ayacucho, and was later named Chief of State. In 1825, he married Francisca ('Pancha') Zubiaga y Bernales, who Simon Bolivar crowned when she was about to put the crown on him. After the invasion of Bolivia in 1828, he was named a mariscal (marshal), a highly esteemed military officer.
After the defeat of José de La Mar in Gran Colombia, Gamarra urged his overthrow and assumed the presidency for a brief period after Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente. The peace treaty with Gran Colombia was also signed during Gamarra's government.
The government of Gamarra followed contrary beliefs to those of José de La Mar. This coincided with a great Peruvian constitutionalist movement; Gamarra put aside the Constitution of 1828, which he opposed given the limitations that were established for the executive branch.
Gamarra finished, with great effort, his first constitutional government. He had a very active character which allowed him to leave Lima to thwart rebellions in various parts of the country. During such expeditions he would leave the presidency to Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente, who manifested his authoritarian character and started to receive the enmity of other government officials based in Lima.
Another idea that obsessed Gamarra was the annexation of Bolivia. He shared this idea with Andrés de Santa Cruz. However, while Bolivia did not think of the creation of one single State, Gamarra believed in the incorporation of the Bolivian territory under a single Peruvian nation.
In 1835, when Orbegoso and Andrés Santa Cruz signed the treaty to establish the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy, Gamarra deeply opposed it and participated in a campaign to defeat it with the help of Chile. This led to the Battle of Yungay and the overthrow of Santa Cruz. Gamarra was then officially named President by the Peruvian congress.
From January to October 1839 the Chilean troops of General Manuel Bulnes were stationed in Lima to stabilize Gamarra's new regime.[2]
During his second government, Gamarra confronted the challenge of pacifying the country in middle of various subversions while at the same time the beginning of a war against Bolivia. Gamarra was defeated and killed by Bolivian forces during the Battle of Ingavi in 1841.