Enrique Alfredo Olaya Herrera (12 November 1880 – 18 February 1937) was a Colombian
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
politician
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 ...
. He served as
President of Colombia
The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...
from 7 August 1930 until 7 August 1934 representing 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 ...
.
Early years
Olaya Herrera grew up in a time of intellectual nonconformity and erudition, in a generation that had to live in through the
Thousand Days War
The Thousand Days' War ( es, Guerra de los Mil Días) was a civil war fought in Colombia from 17 October 1899 to 21 November 1902, at first between the Liberal Party and the government led by the National Party, and later – after the Conser ...
. He studied in the local public school of his hometown
Guateque
Guateque is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Eastern Boyacá Province. Guateque's urban center is located at an altitude of on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at distances of from the ...
, in the
Department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Boyacá as had his parents. He was son of Justiniano Olaya and Emperatriz Herrera, and had two brothers: Leonidas and Joaquín. When he was 12 years old, Olaya Herrera became known as the "child journalist of Guateque" after his founding of a newspaper called "''El Patriota''" (The Patriot) for which he managed to obtain many exchanges with major newspapers like
El Espectador
''El Espectador'' (meaning "The Spectator") is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It changed from a daily to a weekly editio ...
based in
Medellín
Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...
. Olaya Herrera studied Law in the Universidad Republicana (later to become the
Free University of Colombia
Free University of Colombia ( es, Universidad Libre), also called Unilibre, is a nonsectarian, coeducational, private and nonprofit university based in Bogota, Colombia, with six satellite campuses located in Cali, Barranquilla, Pereira, ...
), and founded a weekly magazine called "''El Estudiante''" (The Student) in a newspaper format and which was written by hand.
Political career
Olaya Herrera is considered a member of the "Centennial Generation," corresponding to the cohort of political and intellectual leaders prominent at the time of the first century after the independence war, roughly corresponding to the years from 1925 to 1940. Other members of this group were
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 ...
,
Laureano Gómez
Laureano Eleuterio Gómez Castro (20 February 1889 – 13 July 1965) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 18th President of Colombia from 1950 to 1953. In November 1951 poor health led him to cede presidential powe ...
,
Eduardo Santos,
Mariano Ospina Pérez
Luis Mariano Ospina Pérez (24 November 1891 – 14 April 1976), commonly known as Mariano Ospina Pérez, was a Colombian politician and a member of the Colombian Conservative Party. He served as the 17th President of Colombia between 194 ...
,
Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez,
Luis López de Mesa, Luis Eduardo Nieto Caballero and others.
As a journalist for the newspaper "''El Autonomista''" (The Autonomist) which was owned by
Rafael Uribe Uribe
Rafael Victor Zenón Uribe Uribe (born April 12, 1859 – died October 15, 1914, in Bogotá) was a Colombian lawyer, journalist, and general in the liberal party rebel army.
Uribe Uribe is best known for his political ideas in favor of the est ...
and Ricardo Tirado Macias, Olaya Herrera made a name by criticizing the "Regeneration," which was the name of the numerous policies that marked the return of the country to a unitary state government system, as well as the rise of conservative, authoritarian, and clerical power following the
Colombian Constitution of 1886
The Colombian Constitution of 1886 was the constitution that remade the United States of Colombia into the Republic of Colombia, and replaced the federal republic with a unitary state. Following the Civil War of 1884, a coalition of moderate ...
. Back in his hometown of Guateque Olaya Herrera maintained a newspaper called "''El Soldado Cubano''" (The Cuban Soldier) in which he showed his admiration for
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
.
The political convulsion between the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
had escalated and provoked the
thousand days civil war. Most of the centennial generation was pushed into the war following their political beliefs. Olaya Herrera was also pushed into active participation in politics in the Liberal Party. Olaya Herrera was radicalized and joined the armed liberal militias led by General Cenón Figueredo. Olaya Herrera participated in a confrontation in the village of
Nocaima,
Cundinamarca.
After the war Olaya Herrera continued studying Law and finally graduated with a thesis entitled "''La Liberacion Condicional''" (The Conditional Liberation), which was then published by the University. In 1904 he obtained a doctorate in jurisprudence and in 1906 he traveled to Belgium where he studied diplomacy and sociology at the
Université Libre de Bruxelles focusing on diplomacy, politics and journalism.
Politics and constitutional reform
Upon his return from Belgium, Olaya Herrera joined the cause against the government of General
Rafael Reyes
Rafael Reyes Prieto (December 5, 1849 – February 18, 1921) was a Colombian politician and soldier who was the Chief of Staff of the Colombian National Army and President of Colombia (1904–1909).Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posa ...
criticizing the treaties between the United States and Colombia, and the loss of
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. On 13 March 1909 Olaya Herrera publicly made a speech during a Liberal Party event against Reyes' dictatorship, in the presence of the most important members of the Liberal Party. This made him officially a part of the political movement against the dictatorship that was initiated by
Nicolás Esguerra,
José Vicente Concha and
Miguel Abadía Méndez
Miguel Abadía Méndez (June 5, 1867 – May 9, 1947) was the 12th President of Colombia (1926–1930). A Conservative party politician, Abadía was the last president of the period known as the Conservative Hegemony, running unopposed and fo ...
, a movement that was called "Trecemarcismo," from "''13 de Marzo''" (March the 13th), after his speech. Once President Reyes had to resign as a result of their action, on 16 March 1909, Olaya Herrera put himself forward for the Constituent Assembly and was later elected. He helped reform the
Colombian Constitution of 1886
The Colombian Constitution of 1886 was the constitution that remade the United States of Colombia into the Republic of Colombia, and replaced the federal republic with a unitary state. Following the Civil War of 1884, a coalition of moderate ...
representing the then-existing Quesada Department. Among his party members participating were
Rafael Uribe Uribe
Rafael Victor Zenón Uribe Uribe (born April 12, 1859 – died October 15, 1914, in Bogotá) was a Colombian lawyer, journalist, and general in the liberal party rebel army.
Uribe Uribe is best known for his political ideas in favor of the est ...
, Benjamín Herrera, Gabriel Vargas Santos, Nicolás Esguerra, Tomás O. Eastman, Carmelo Arango and Tomás Quevedo Álvarez. The conservative deputies were
Carlos E. Restrepo
Carlos Eugenio Restrepo Restrepo (September 12, 1867 – July 6, 1937) was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and statesman, who was elected President of Colombia in 1910.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italg ...
,
José Vicente Concha,
Pedro Nel Ospina
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
,
Guillermo Valencia
Guillermo Valencia Castillo (October 29, 1873 in Popayán, Colombia – July 8, 1943 in Popayán) was a Colombian poet, translator, and politician. Valencia was a pioneer of Modernism in Colombia and a member of the Colombian Conservative Pa ...
, Emilio Forero, Hernando Holguín, Abel Carbonell, Pedro M. Carreño and Guillermo Quintero Calderón. Both sides concluded the constitutional reform and initiated a period of reconciliation, political tolerance and a sense of nationalism.
Carlos Eugenio Restrepo
Carlos Eugenio Restrepo Restrepo (September 12, 1867 – July 6, 1937) was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and statesman, who was elected President of Colombia in 1910.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italg ...
assumed the presidency of Colombia from 1910 until 1914 sponsored by the Republican Party which Olaya Herrera supported.
President Restrepo appointed Olaya Herrera as the first Minister of Foreign Relations on 7 August 1910 until his resignation on 23 November 1911. During the administration of President
Jorge Holguín
Jorge Marcelo Holguín Mallarino (30 October 1848 – 2 March 1928) was a Colombian politician and military officer, two time Acting President of Colombia: June–August 1909 as interim president, and from November 1921 to August 1922. He also se ...
, Olaya Herrera was appointed to the same office from 1921 until January 4, 1922, and also served as Minister of Agriculture. During the 1920s Olaya Herrera served also as a diplomat (mainly improving Colombian relations with the United States) and with the
Colombian congress
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Congreso de la República de Colombia) is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.
The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Re ...
.
Presidential candidate
During the 1930s the Liberal leadership considered Olaya Herrera as the most suitable leader to recover the presidency from the Regeneration Movement hegemony. He was appointed by the Liberal party in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
as presidential candidate after a group of liberal and conservative friends registered him in the candidates list on 22 January 1930 in the town of
Puerto Berrío
Puerto Berrío is a municipality and town in the Colombian department of Antioquia.
Geography
Puerto Berrío is located in a region of Antioquia known as the Middle Magdalena (near the Magdalena River). It is bounded on the north by the munic ...
. Olaya Herrera named his political movement "''Concentracion Nacional''" (National Concentration).
Olaya Herra was elected on 9 February 1930 with 369,962 votes against the other candidates
Guillermo Valencia
Guillermo Valencia Castillo (October 29, 1873 in Popayán, Colombia – July 8, 1943 in Popayán) was a Colombian poet, translator, and politician. Valencia was a pioneer of Modernism in Colombia and a member of the Colombian Conservative Pa ...
with 213,417 votes and Alfredo Vázquez Cobo with 213,417 votes. Former conservative president
Carlos Eugenio Restrepo
Carlos Eugenio Restrepo Restrepo (September 12, 1867 – July 6, 1937) was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and statesman, who was elected President of Colombia in 1910.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italg ...
gave his support to Olaya Herrera along with other moderate conservatives.
Presidency
Olaya Herrera's government was characterized at first by compromise, allocating half of his government's public offices (mainly ministries and government departments) to the opposition party led by
Laureano Gómez
Laureano Eleuterio Gómez Castro (20 February 1889 – 13 July 1965) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 18th President of Colombia from 1950 to 1953. In November 1951 poor health led him to cede presidential powe ...
, although these party members were gradually pushed out of office.
His term was characterized by a profound interest in social problems and reforms: workers' legislation, public assistance, protection for workers and farmers, and others. This agenda was interrupted by the urgent attention required by the
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
, and its repercussions all over the world. Olaya Herrera started a cycle of national protectionism, which fostered the development of industry with national capital as the basis for developmental stimuli, emphasizing internal demand. Imports decreased significantly, as did the prices of coffee in the international market. This protectionist trend promoted a nationalist consciousness that turned the country further away from the free-trade policies of the nineteenth century.
Economic crisis and War with Peru
After the
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
Olaya Herrera was given special powers and dictated some economic reforms that developed at some level the industry and attempted to manage the debt generated by the
war with Peru which originated in 1932 when the
Amazonian port of
Leticia was taken over by invading Peruvian soldiers. Previously, during the presidency of
Jorge Holguin
Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker".
The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...
, the
Salomón–Lozano Treaty
The Salomón–Lozano Treaty was signed in July 1922 by representatives Fabio Lozano Torrijos, of Colombia and Alberto Salomón Osorio of Peru. The fourth in a succession of treaties on the Colombian-Peruvian disputes over land in the upper Amazo ...
which defined the Peru-Colombia border was signed in secrecy. Once the treaty became known to the public in Peru, it became unpopular and a group of Peruvian citizens took the town of Leticia, which was colonized by both Peruvians and Colombians, and which the treaty had awarded to Colombia. General Alfredo Vázquez Cobo was entrusted by Olaya Herrera to lead the armed operations in southern Colombia. The war was financed by the government and the solidarity of the citizens, who donated jewelry and money to support the cause. After many battles the war ended with the signing of the
Rio Protocol
The Protocol of Peace, Friendship, and Boundaries between Peru and Ecuador, or Rio Protocol for short, was an international agreement signed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 29, 1942, by the foreign ministers of Peru and Ecuador, with t ...
in 1934,
which upheld the Salomón–Lozano Treaty and officially ended the border conflicts between Colombia and Peru.
Public works
During his government Olaya Herrera tried to develop the Colombian national industry and for this he supported many infrastructure projects mainly highways, maritime and fluvial ports (
Barranquilla
Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...
and
Buenaventura) and railroads. He also supported public education and the exploration and exploitation of energy natural resources such as oil, mainly in the northern region of Catatumbo.
Olaya Herrera also tried to improve the association between
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s, for which he created a Bank of Agrarian Credit ( es, Caja de Crédito Agrario), the Mortgage Central Bank ( es, Banco Central Hipotecario) to finance low income housing and for the improvement of production and exporting of coffee products; the government of Olaya Herrera also created the
National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia
The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, ( es, link=no, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia), abbreviated as Colombian Coffee Growers Federation or Fedecafé, is a non-profit business organization, popularly known for its ...
. He also helped introduce labor law reforms.
Public order issues
During his first two years as president there were two main foci of violence in the country; in
Boyaca and
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
initially motivated by political reasons. The towns with most problems were
Chiquinquirá
Chiquinquirá is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Western Boyacá Province. Located some 115 km north of Bogotá, Chiquinquirá is above sea level and has a yearly average temp ...
, the towns of western Boyaca, the Garcia Rovira Province in
Santander Department and some towns in the areas of
Norte de Santander Department
North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) () is a departments of Colombia, department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities.
North Santan ...
, where conservative public employees resisted being in charge of liberals until the end of his government on 7 August 1934.
Post-government and death
After finishing his term as president in 1935 Olaya Herrera was appointed Minister of Foreign Relations during the government 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 ...
and later appointed ambassador of Colombia to the
State of the Vatican City in Rome,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
where he died on 18 February 1937 serving. He had been planning to run for reelection as president upon his return to Colombia.
Personal life
Olaya Herrera married María Teresa Londoño Sáenz in 1911 and had two daughters; Maria and Lucia.
References
External links
Luis Angel Arango Library: Enrique Olaya Herrera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olaya Herrera, Enrique
1880 births
1937 deaths
People from Boyacá Department
Free University of Colombia alumni
Colombian Roman Catholics
Colombian people of Spanish descent
Colombian Liberal Party politicians
Presidents of Colombia
Ambassadors of Colombia to the Holy See
20th-century Colombian lawyers
Colombian journalists
Male journalists
Foreign ministers of Colombia
Colombian Ministers of Agriculture and Commerce
Burials at Central Cemetery of Bogotá
20th-century journalists