Mariano Ospina Pérez

Luis Mariano Ospina Pérez (* November 24, 1891 in Medellin, Colombia, † April 14, 1976 in Bogotá ) was a Colombian politician of the conservative Partido Conservador Colombiano and 1946-1950 President of Colombia.

Biography

Ospina Pérez came from a politically influential family and was not only a grandson of Mariano Ospina Rodríguez, president of New Granada and the Granada's Confederacy from 1857 to 1861, but also the President 1922-1926 Pedro Nel Ospina.

After school he studied at the School of Mines of Antioquia ( Escuela de Minas de Antioquia ) and then worked as a mining engineer. After a two-year post-graduate studies at Louisiana State University, he devoted himself to a variety of activities in gold mining, production of sugarcane, the economy, labor relations, system of cooperatives, civil engineering and railway construction.

He began his political career as a member of the City Council of Medellín, in which he was in 1915 elected as representatives of the Conservatives. In the following years, he held numerous elected offices. At the same time, he became in 1917 a member of the Departmental Assembly of Antioquia. After working as Superintendent of the railways of Antioquia ( Ferrocarril de Antioquia ) from 1919 to 1921, he was his father's successor as director of the School of Mines of Antioquia. At the same time he ( Cámara de Representantes ) was first elected to the House of Representatives and was during the presidency of his uncle Pedro Nel Ospina 1922 to 1926 the Senate of Colombia ( Senado ) to.

In August 1926 he was appointed by the newly elected President Miguel Abadia Mendez as the successor of Laureano Gómez to the Minister of Public Works ( Ministro de Obras Públicas ), but resigned in May in 1927 left the government.

Finally, he was since 1929 for many years president of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia ( Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia ).

At a time of incipient intra-party conflict, he was elected in 1946 with the support of Laureano Gómez president and attempted to form a coalition with the liberal Partido Liberal Colombiana. However, it also thereby did not succeed to stop the growing violence between the parties, culminating ultimately on 9 April 1948 in the assassination of the Chairman of the Liberal Party, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, found. After announcement of a putative participation of Foreign Minister Laureano Gómez in the murder of intraparty conflict grew between the dominated by the upper class under Ospina Pérez more moderate faction of the Conservatives and the majority faction of the Partido Conservator under Laureano Gómez.

After Gómez than his successor became President of Colombia on August 7, 1950, he himself remained a key leader of the Conservatives. Finally, put the personal animosity between him and Gómez a serious problem in the formation of the National Front ( Frente Nacional) in 1957 represents the agreement between liberals and conservatives for the alternate position of President for four years from 1958 and 1974.