Federico Malo Andrade

Federico Eulogio Malo Andrade (5 July 1859 – 14 February 1932) was an Ecuadorian entrepreneur and prominent figure who made a fortune from the exportation of panama hats and quinine, and with the foundation of financial institutions. He was born in Cuenca, on July 5, 1859, to Dr. Luis Malo Valdivieso, a lawyer and lieutenant colonel who also was a rich merchant, and Mrs. Jesús Andrade Morales, niece of the President of Ecuador, Dr. Jeronimo Carrion y Palacio.

In 1877, he traveled to Europe to live in Paris and London, where he studied economy and law. He stayed there until 1879, and returned to Cuenca, where he was established until 1883, when he returned to Paris. He became a friend of Juan Montalvo, an Ecuadorian writer resident there. When he finally went back to Cuenca in 1887, he married Mrs. Leticia de Andrade Chiriboga (1870–1935) on March 23, 1888. They had eleven children. That was the moment in his life where he became a very important person in Cuenca; he was Secretary of the City Council in 1891, French and English teacher at Benigno Malo National College of Cuenca in 1892, Congressman in 1896, Rector of Benigno Malo National College in 1896-1900; 1901–1906 and 1914–1916, President of the City Council in 1903, President of Azuay's Liberal Party in 1912, Governor of Azuay between 1916 and 1920, Senator in 1924, etc.

In 1912, he imported from London to Cuenca, the first automobile that arrived to the city. In 1913, he founded Cuenca's first Bank, Banco del Azuay, and in 1919, Cuenca's Commerce Chamber. He participated in the opening of a branch of Ecuador's Central Bank in Cuenca, in 1928, of which he became President. He died in his city, on February 14, 1932, aged 72.