Sim籀n Jos矇 Antonio de la Sant穩sima Trinidad Bol穩var y Palacios (July 24, 1783 - December 17, 1830), known as El Libertador, was a Venezuelan military and political leader who played a leading role in the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama as sovereign states, independent of Spanish rule. He was simultaneously president of Gran Colombia (current Venezuela, Colombia, Panam獺 and Ecuador) and Peru, while his second in command Antonio Jos矇 de Sucre was appointed president of Bolivia. He aimed at a strong and united Spanish America able to cope not only with the threats emanating from Spain and the European Holy Alliance but also with the emerging power of the United States. At the peak of his power, Bol穩var ruled over a vast territory from the Argentine border to the Caribbean Sea. He is considered one of the most influential politicians in Latin American history. Bol穩var was a hero, visionary, revolutionar and liberator who helped lay the foundations for democratic ideology in much of Latin America. He died in 1830, at the age of 47, after a painful battle with tuberculosis.