Antonio de Mendoza was a distinguished Spanish statesman and the first viceroy of New Spain, serving from 1535 to 1550. During his tenure, he established many foundational political, social, and economic institutions that shaped colonial Mexico, including the founding of the first university and printing press in the Americas. He later became the third viceroy of Peru in 1551, though his rule there was cut short by his death. Mendoza is remembered as a capable and influential administrator who laid the groundwork for Spanish colonial rule in the New World for centuries.