Rafael Núñez (politician)

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Núñez and the second or maternal family name is Moledo.
Rafael Núñez Moledo

1891 oil painting by Epifanio Garay
1st President of Colombia
In office
April 1, 1886  September 18, 1894
Vice President Miguel Antonio Caro (1892–1894)
Eliseo Payán Hurtado (1886–1892)
Preceded by Office established*
Succeeded by Miguel Antonio Caro
14th President of the United States of Colombia
In office
August 11, 1884  April 1, 1886
Preceded by José Eusebio Otálora Martínez
Succeeded by Office abolished*
10th President of the United States of Colombia
In office
April 8, 1880  April 1, 1882
Preceded by Julián Trujillo Largacha
Succeeded by Francisco Javier Zaldúa
15th President of the Sovereign State of Bolívar
In office
1879–1880
Preceded by Benjamin Noguera
Succeeded by Benjamin Noguera
12th President of the Sovereign State of Bolívar
In office
1876–1877
Preceded by Eugenio Baena
Succeeded by Manuel González Carazo
Personal details
Born Rafael Wenceslao Núñez Moledo
(1825-09-25)September 25, 1825
Cartagena de Indias, Magdalena, Colombia
Died September 18, 1894(1894-09-18) (aged 68)
Cartagena de Indias, Bolívar, Colombia
Resting place El Cabrero Hermitage,
Cartagena de Indias
Nationality Colombian
Political party Liberal Party
(1848-1886)
National Party
(1886-1894)
Spouse(s) María de los Dolores Gallegos Martínez(1851-1872)
Soledad Román Polanco
(1877-1894)
Alma mater University of Cartagena
Profession Lawyer
Religion Roman Catholic
Signature
Military service
Nickname(s) El Regenerador
Allegiance Colombia (Liberal Party)
Service/branch National Army of Colombia
Battles/wars War of the Supremes

Rafael Wenceslao Núñez Moledo (September 28, 1825 – September 18, 1894) was a Colombian author, lawyer, journalist and politician, who was elected president of Colombia in 1880 and in 1884.[1]

Early life

Núñez was the first of three children of cousins Dolores García Moledo and Colonel Francisco Núñez García, who were married on October 6, 1824. At 15, he was accepted by General Francisco Carmona in the rebel troops to fight in the War of the Supremes.

Little is known about the early years of Núñez, but he certainly served as a Circuit Judge in Chiriquí, Panama in 1848.

Political career

In 1848, Núñez founded in Cartagena, Colombia, the newspaper La Democracia, with the intention of promoting the presidential election of General José María Obando as a successor to José Hilario López. The same year, he was appointed as Chief of Staff in Cartagena's government, thus beginning his political life.[2]

In 1853, he was elected to the Colombian Congress. In 1854 he was elected as governor of the department of Bolívar. Between 1855 and 1857, during the government of Manuel María Mallarino, he served as Minister of the Treasury and Minister of War.

In 1855, he published his first volume of political essays, under the name of La Federación. Later, under the government of Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, he served as Minister of the Treasury.

After representing Colombia in the Ríonegro Treaty, he travelled abroad. He first lived in New York City for two years. Then, he represented Colombia as a diplomat in Le Havre; later, he was appointed as the Colombian Consul in Liverpool.

He returned to Colombia in 1876 at the center of a political fight. He had been nominated as a candidate for the presidency that year/but did not win the election. Four years later, he was elected President of Colombia for the 1880-1882 presidential term. Again, in 1884, he was re-elected President of Colombia with the support of the Conservative Party.

He was the force behind La Regeneración (Regeneration) movement of 1884 and the new Constitution for Colombia of 1886.[3]

The constitutional reform of 1886, carried out with the collaboration of Miguel Antonio Caro, was possibly the most outstanding political performance of Núñez. This constitution, with some later modifications, was in effect until the proclamation of a new one in 1991.

From 1878 to 1888, he wrote hundreds of influential articles related to the constitutional reform for the newspapers La Luz and La Nación of Bogota, and 'El Porvenir' and El Impulso of Cartagena. He also wrote the lyrics for the Colombian national anthem.

He was again re-elected to be President of Colombia in 1886 and in 1892 but did not take office for his last term. Rather, his vice-president, Miguel Antonio Caro was sworn in as president for the presidential tern of 1892-1898.[4]

Legacy

In his first administration, Núñez restores peace and order. He allowed the Catholic bishops, who were in exile, to return to the country. He created the Military Academy and the National Academy of Music. He inaugurated the international telegraph service. He re-established diplomatic relationships with Spain, which had been severed since the War of Independence. Also, he signed international treaties of commerce and cultural exchange with France and the United Kingdom.[5]

During his second administration, Núñez sponsored, championed and enacted a major and fundamental overhaul of the nation’s political structure, which ended with the adoption and enactment of the new Constitution of the Republic of Colombia, which came to be known as the Constitution of 1886.[6]

Literature

In 1874, while in Europe, he had many of his most important writings published.

Núñez was the author of the words to the national anthem of Colombia, ¡Oh Gloria Inmarcesible!.[7]

Núñez is mentioned in Gabriel García Márquez's 1985 novel, Love in the Time of Cholera (Amor en los tiempos del cólera).

References

  1. Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, p. 111, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983
  2. Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, Pages 112, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983
  3. Froysland, Hayley (2006) "The regeneración de la raza in Colombia" a chapter in Doyle, Don and Pamplona, Marco (eds.) (2006) Nationalism in the New World University of Georgia Press, Athens, Ga., ISBN 0-8203-2654-2
  4. Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, p. 262, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983
  5. Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, p. 112, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983
  6. Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, p. 114, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983
  7. "Colombia: Himno Nacional de la República de Colombia (¡Oh gloria inmarcesible!)". NationalAnthems.me. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
Political offices
Preceded by
Julián Trujillo Largacha
President of United States of Colombia
(1st Term)

1880–1882
Succeeded by
Francisco Javier Zaldúa
Preceded by
Ezequiel Hurtado
President of United States of Colombia
(2nd Term)

1884–1886
Succeeded by
José María Campo Serrano
Preceded by
Position created
President of Colombia
1886-1894
Succeeded by
Miguel Antonio Caro Tobar
Preceded by
Eliseo Payán
President of Colombia
1888
Succeeded by
Carlos Holguín Mallarino
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