Republic of Colombia
Colombia, 1886 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
After a two-year civil war in 1863, the United States of Colombia was created, which became known as the Republic of Colombia in 1886. With the backing of the US and France, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, resulting in Colombia's present borders. Beginning in the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict and political violence, both of which escalated in the 1990s. The Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal in November 2016, which the Colombian congress approved.
Seat of power: Bogotá
Rulers
Rafael Núñez
President of Colombia, 1886–1894
He was the leader of the so-called "Regeneration" process, which produced the Colombian Constitution of 1886, which was to remain until 1991.
Portrait of Rafael Núñez: Oleo de Epifanio Garay., Public domain, file
Miguel Antonio Caro Tobar
President of Colombia, 1892–1898
Facing strong opposition from the liberals and traditionalist conservatives, he imposed a severe censorship law against the opposition. During his six years as president, Caro had to crush three coup attempts by the liberals.
Portrait of Miguel Antonio Caro Tobar: Cultura Banco de la República, Public domain, file
José Manuel Marroquín
President of Colombia, 1900–1904
In an effort to end the civil war, he offered the liberals a truce and armistice on June 12, 1902, but the liberals rejected the offer. He officially declared the nation at peace on June 1, 1903.
Portrait of José Manuel Marroquín: Ricardo Acevedo Bernal, Public domain, file
José Vicente Concha
President of Colombia, 1914–1918
He was inaugurated as President of Colombia on August 10, 1914. Concha decided to maintain the country neutral during World War I, for which Congress approved and gave him extraordinary powers to rule by decree.
Portrait of José Vicente Concha: Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, file
Pedro Nel Ospina Vázquez
President of Colombia, 1922–1926
During his administration, he organized the Departments of Education, Health, and the Treasury. He created the Central Bank (Banco de la Republica) and greatly advanced critical public works, such as the main national highways and railways systems, dams and bridges, and the crude oil pipelines connecting the major oil fields to the sea ports.
Portrait of Pedro Nel Ospina Vázquez: National Photo Company Collection, Public domain, file
.jpg){kind=link}
Miguel Abadía Méndez
President of Colombia, 1926–1930
He had to face the difficult economic situation and world recession caused by the Great Depression. In 1929 Abadía sent the Colombian Army to Ciénaga, where farmers were striking over working conditions. The soldiers shot the striking workers in the Banana Massacre, and those killed range from 100 to 2,000 dead.
Portrait of Miguel Abadía Méndez: Cultura Banco de la República, Public domain, file
Enrique Olaya Herrera
President of Colombia, 1930–1934
He served as President of Colombia from 7 August 1930 until 7 August 1934, representing the Colombian Liberal Party.
Portrait of Enrique Olaya Herrera: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Eduardo Santos
President of Colombia, 1938–1942
He served as the President of Colombia from August 1938 to August 1942, having been elected without opposition. During his presidency, a number of reforms were carried out in areas such as working conditions and housing.
Portrait of Eduardo Santos: Oleo de Cecilia Fajardo, Public domain, file
Alfonso López Pumarejo
President of Colombia, 1942–1946
During the course of his two presidencies, a wide range of progressive reforms were carried out in areas such as working conditions, social security, and housing. When Colombia joined the Allies in declaring war against the Axis powers in July 1943, López Pumarejo strongly supported the decision.
Portrait of Alfonso López Pumarejo: https://colombia.com/, CC0, file
Mariano Ospina Pérez
President of Colombia, 1946–1950
He was also committed to social responsibility and, to that end, set up the financial institution La Caja Agraria, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Labor and the Housing Credit Agency to help meet the credit, educational and social needs of blue-collar workers, coffee growers, and other small farmers and peasants. During his presidency, on April 9, 1948, the liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was assassinated in confusing circumstances by Juan Roa. The confusion and anger triggered by Gaitán's assassination provoked the huge Bogotazo riots that extended throughout the Colombian capital Bogotá and extended later to the rest of the country to generate a ten-year period of violence known as La Violencia.
Portrait of Mariano Ospina Pérez: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
President of Colombia, 1953–1957
In 1953, he mounted a successful coup d'état against Ospina's successor as president, the extreme right-wing Laureano Gómez Castro, imposing martial law. Seeking to reduce political violence, he ruled the country as a military dictatorship, allying himself with trade unionists, implementing infrastructure programs, and extending female suffrage. He was forced to step down due to public pressure in 1957.
Portrait of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla: Photographer not credited, Public domain, file
Álvaro Uribe Vélez
President of Colombia, 2002–2010
His government received funding and backing from the Clinton and Bush administrations in the form of a US$2.8 billion direct foreign aid package called "Plan Colombia". He also led an effort to demobilize the right-wing paramilitary group known as the AUC. His defense minister Juan Manuel Santos oversaw large-scale alleged executions, by which thousands of civilians were killed by the Colombian army, as part of the "false positives" scandal, with almost total impunity.
Portrait of Álvaro Uribe Vélez: Departamento Nacional de Planeación, CC BY-SA 2.0, file
Juan Manuel Santos
President of Colombia, 2010–2018
On 7 October 2016, Santos was announced as recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts negotiating a peace treaty with the FARC-guerrilla in the country, despite his defeat in the referendum held over the deal, where the "No" campaign led by Uribe's Democratic Center won narrowly. The Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal on 24 November and sent it to Congress for ratification instead of conducting a second referendum. Both houses of Congress ratified the revised peace accord on 29 to 30 November 2016, marking an end to the conflict.
Portrait of Juan Manuel Santos: Palacio do Planalto, Attribution, file
.JPG){kind=link}
Gustavo Petro
President of Colombia, 2022–2026
As president, Petro pursued a progressive domestic agenda, increasing the minimum wage, strengthening the legal framework for labor protections, redistributing land to peasants, and increasing social spending. His health and labor reforms stalled in Congress. His security policy, "Total Peace", which aimed to demobilize the country's remaining armed groups, has been criticized as ineffective.
Portrait of Gustavo Petro: Departamento Nacional de Planeación, CC BY 2.0, file
.jpg){kind=link}
Abelardo de la Espriella
President of Colombia, 2026 to today
In the 2026 presidential election, de la Espriella received 43.74% of the vote in the first round on 31 May, before defeating left-wing senator Iván Cepeda in the runoff on 21 June with 49.66% to Cepeda's 48.70%, the smallest margin of victory ever recorded in a Colombian presidential election. He supports the right to bear arms, withdrawal from international bodies such as the United Nations and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, laissez-faire economic policies, and an end to peace processes with Colombian armed groups. In foreign policy, he has overseen closer alignment with the United States under President Donald Trump and the restoration of diplomatic ties with Israel.
Portrait of Abelardo de la Espriella: Abelardo de la Espriella, CC0, file
.jpg){kind=link}
Culture
- In agriculture, Colombia is one of the five largest producers in the world of coffee, avocado and palm oil, and one of the 10 largest producers in the world of sugarcane, banana, pineapple and cocoa.
- During the boom in Latin American literature, successful writers emerged, led by Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez and his magnum opus, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
- Musicians, composers, music producers and singers from Colombia are recognized internationally such as Shakira, Juanes, Carlos Vives and others.
Picture
Bolívar Square is the main square of the Colombian capital Bogotá and hosts a statue of Simón Bolívar, sculpted in 1846 by the Italian Pietro Tenerani.
Image: Peter Angritt, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.