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Pedro Nel Ospina Vázquez

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For the Colombian footballer, see Pedro Ospina (footballer).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ospina and the second or maternal family name is Vázquez.
Pedro Nel Ospina
Photograph of General Pedro Nel Ospina
11th President of Colombia
In office
August 7, 1922 – August 7, 1926
Preceded byJorge Holguín
Succeeded byMiguel Abadía Méndez
7th Governor of Antioquia
In office
September 18, 1918 – April 12, 1920
Preceded byPedro José Berrío
Succeeded byJesús María Marulanda
Personal details
Born
Pedro Nel Tomás de Villanueva Ospina Vázquez

(1858-09-18)September 18, 1858
Bogotá, Antioquia State, Granadine Confederation
DiedJuly 1, 1927(1927-07-01) (aged 68)
Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Resting placeSan Pedro Cemetery Museum
NationalityColombian
Political partyConservative
SpouseCarolina Vásquez Uribe
RelationsMariano Ospina Rodríguez (father)
ChildrenPedro Nel Ospina Vásquez,
Luis Ospina Vásquez,
Manuel Ospina Vásquez, and
Elena Ospina Vásquez
Alma materUniversity of Antioquia
UC Berkeley
ENSCP
OccupationEngineer, Businessman, Soldier, Professor, Rector and Politician
ProfessionEngineer (Mining)
Military service
AllegianceColombian Conservative Party
Branch/serviceArmy
RankGeneral
Battles/warsWar of the Schools,
Thousand Days' War

Pedro Nel Ignacio Tomás de Villanueva Ospina Vásquez (18 September 1858 – 1 July 1927) was a Colombian general and political figure. He served as president of Colombia between 1922 and 1926.[1]

Biography

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Ospina was born in Bogotá, on September 18, 1858. He was born in the Presidential Palace, as his father Mariano Ospina Rodríguez was president of Colombia at the time.[2] He died in Medellín, on July 1, 1927.[3]

Educator

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Colombia's first significant effort in mining engineering was brought about by the Escuela Nacional de Minas in the city of Medellín. This institution was conceived strictly as a mining institute, modeled after the School of Mines of the University of California, Berkeley, from which its first directors, Ospina and his brother Tulio Ospina were graduated. When the school began its second life after 1904, it also offered degrees in chemistry, civil, electrical, mining and mechanical engineering. As rectors of the school, echoing the themes of their father, they insistently preached the virtues of work, discipline and practicality.[4]

Engineer and entrepreneur

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Antioqueño engineers thought of themselves primarily as industrial entrepreneurs rather than agents of state policy. Although some, such as Ospina and his nephew Mariano Ospina Pérez, became highly successful in national politics, antioqueño engineers continued to nurture the self-image of the apolitical, economically practical, hardworking paisa.[5] Since 1910, successful businessmen and engineers emerged from the business community of Medellín, as did Ospina, who was a Berkeley-trained mining engineer and an industrial entrepreneur as well as a large-scale agriculturalist.[6]

Politics

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Ospina was elected MP to the Camara de Representantes (House of Representatives) in 1892 and 1894 for the province of Antioquia. During his first term he sponsored the bill to derogate the “Ley de los Caballos” and introduced a bill to enact the “freedom of speech”.[7] During his second term he sponsored a bill to restructure the Banco Nacional (National Bank).[8]

Ospina was a General of the Army during the civil war of the Thousand Days' War. In 1901 he was appointed as Minister of War by President José Manuel Marroquín.[9]

President Carlos Eugenio Restrepo, in 1910, appointed Ospina as the Colombian Ambassador to the United States. Upon his return to the country, he was elected to congress and later as Governor of Antioquia.[8]

In 1918, Ospina was appointed as Governor of the province of Antioquia. Later, in 1920, during the government of President Marco Fidel Suárez, Ospina was elected by congress as the nation's presidential designate.[8]

Presidency

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In 1922, he was elected as Colombia's 36th president.[1] 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.[3]

Ospina, as president of the republic between 1922 and 1926, secured the creation of a modern central bank, and in 1928 he created the Bogotá stock exchange. During his administration, banking and commerce expanded and became more organized.[10]

Museo Cementerio San Pedro(8)-Medellin.JPG
Museo Cementerio San Pedro(8)-Medellin

References

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  1. ^ a b "Colombia Elects Ospina President. Son of Former Head of Republic Defeats Liberal by 50,000 Votes. Marks Return of the Liberal Party to Political Participation in Country's Affairs". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 14, 1922. Retrieved 2011-02-12. General Pedro Nel Ospina was chosen President of the Republic of Colombia in the elections held yesterday. He had a majority of 50,000 votes over the Liberal candidate, ...
  2. ^ Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; Gobernantes Colombianos; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 175; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983
  3. ^ a b Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; Gobernantes Colombianos; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 178; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983
  4. ^ Safford, Frank R., The Ideal of the Practical, University of Texas Press, Page 201 ISBN 0-292-73803-X
  5. ^ Safford, Frank R., The Ideal of the Practical, University of Texas Press, Page 225, ISBN 0-292-73803-X
  6. ^ Safford, Frank R., The Ideal of the Practical, University of Texas Press, Page 238, ISBN 0-292-73803-X
  7. ^ Melo, Jorge Orlando; Historia de Antioquia, trans. History of Antioquia; Editorial Presencia Ltd.; Primera Edición; Page 138; Bogotá, Colombia; November, 1988
  8. ^ a b c Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; Gobernantes Colombianos; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 177; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983
  9. ^ Melo, Jorge Orlando; Historia de Antioquia, trans. History of Antioquia; Editorial Presencia Ltd.; Primera Edición; Page 141; Bogotá, Colombia; November, 1988
  10. ^ Safford, Frank R., The Ideal of the Practical, University of Texas Press, Page 233, ISBN 0-292-73803-X
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Political offices
Preceded by President of Colombia
1922-1926 		Succeeded by
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