Darío Echandía Olaya (October 13, 1897 – May 7, 1989) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and a

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, a member of the

Colombian Liberal Party The Colombian Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Colombiano; PLC) is a centre to centre-left political party in Colombia. It was founded as a classical liberal party but later developed a more social-democratic tradition, joining the Socialis ...

. He was born on October 13, 1897 in

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, Tolima, son of Vincente Enchandia and Carlota Olaya de E. The elder of seven brothers, he was educated at Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario and Colegio de Araujo (Bogota) receiving degrees of Attorney and Doctor in Law, 1917. He married Emilia Arciniegas, August 2, 1936. He died on May 7, 1989 in

Ibagué Ibagué () (referred to as San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas during the Spanish period) is the capital of Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city is located in the center of the country ...

, Tolima. During his lifetime, Darío Echandía served as deputy for Tolima, senator for Tolima, president of the senate, magistrate in the Supreme Court of Justice, and in the ministries of Government, Education, Justice and Foreign Relations. He was also the Colombian ambassador to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. Darío Echandía was designated as acting president of Colombia on four occasions: From 1943 to 1944 due to the temporary absence of

Alfonso López Pumarejo Alfonso López Pumarejo (31 January 1886 – 20 November 1959) was a Colombian political figure, who twice served as President of Colombia, as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. He served as President of Colombia for the first time between ...

, in 1944 due to a kidnapping attempt against Pumarejo, briefly in 1960, and briefly in 1967. The Darío Echandía Library (Biblioteca Darío Echandía) in Ibagué was inaugurated in 1984 in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echandia Olaya, Dario 1897 births 1989 deaths People from Chaparral, Tolima Colombian Roman Catholics Colombian people of Basque descent Colombian Liberal Party politicians Del Rosario University alumni Free University of Colombia faculty Ambassadors of Colombia to the Holy See Ambassadors of Colombia to the United Kingdom Presidential Designates of Colombia Foreign ministers of Colombia Colombian Ministers of Justice Colombian Ministers of National Education Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia Presidents of Colombia Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia