As leader of the Civilian Party Leguía was Prime Minister of Peru (1903–08) and President (1908–12, 1919–30). During his first term in office he settled frontier disputes with Bolivia and Brazil, introduced administrative reforms, and improved the public health system. He was reinstated as President by the army in 1919, introducing a new constitution in 1920. He chose largely to ignore this, governing by increasingly dictatorial methods. His second term saw rapid industrialization, but was adversely affected by the Great Depression and fall in commodity prices. Criticized also for the Tacna–Arica Settlement, he lost popularity and was forced from office by the military.