Laureano Gómez

Laureano Eleuterio Gómez Castro ( born February 20, 1889 in Bogotá, † July 13, 1965 ) was a Colombian politician of the conservative Partido Conservador Colombiano and 1950-1953 President of Colombia.

Biography

Laureano Gómez began his political career in 1911 with the first election to the House of Representatives ( Cámara de Representantes ), where he served initially until 1918. In 1921 he was again elected a member of the House of Representatives and was on this until 1923.

In 1924 he was appointed ambassador representative in Argentina and called upon his return to Colombia in June 1925 as Minister of Public Works in the government of President Pedro Nel Ospina, where he remained until the end of his term in August 1926. After a period as Minister Plenipotentiary of the German Empire from 1930 to 1931, he was elected Senator in 1932 and also Chairman of the Partido Conservador. His strong support for Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco meant that he was soon exposed in Colombia hostility and several times had to go into exile.

After his return and the end of the Second World War in 1946 he was instrumental in the formation of Mariano Ospina Pérez to conservative presidential candidate. This he was appointed in March 1948 as foreign minister in his cabinet. As such, he was also chairman of the 1948 9th International Conference of American States in Bogotá. However, this ended due to incipient riots after the assassination of the President of the Partido Liberal Colombiano liberal, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. One day after the assassination Gómez resigned as foreign minister after allegations were made ​​against him of involvement in the murder.

After spending again several months in exile, he returned to his nomination to the conservative presidential candidates. The presidential elections in 1949 were marred by the imposition of martial law and press censorship and the absence of candidates of the Liberal Party.

After his election, he took over on 7 August 1950, the Office of the President and was soon the bipartisan hostility of his political opponents exposed. There were several reasons such as that imposed press censorship, the tutelage of the courts, the terrorization of Protestants. After increasingly violent nationwide violent rebellions he handed on 5 November 1951, the leadership of the President's official duties to Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez, but himself remained until June 13, 1953 nominally President of Colombia. After his final dismissal he fled again into exile in Spain.

As an opponent of the brutal and incompetent official leadership of his dictatorial ruling successor Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in 1957 he was one of the supporters of the National Front ( Frente Nacional) which is ultimately Alberto Lleras Camargo in 1958 emerged as the President.