Guillermo León Valencia Muñoz (27 April 1909 – 4 November 1971) was a Colombian politician, lawyer and diplomat who served as the 21st President of Colombia from 1962 to 1966.

Personal life

Valencia was born in

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian departments of Colombia, department of Cauca Department, Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between the Cordillera Occidental (Colombia), Western Mountain Range and Cordillera Central (Colo ...

, Cauca on April 27, 1909, to Colombian poet and politician

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 ...

, and his wife Josefina Muñoz. He attended highschool at the Colegio Champagnat 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 ...

and graduated in December 1946. On January 31, 1931 he married Susana López Navia, a 20-year-old secretary with whom he had four children: Pedro Felipe, Alma, Ignacio, and Diana.

Political career

Valencia was elected to the city council of

and the Assembly of Cauca. Later he was also elected to the City Council of

and worked as diplomat for Colombia to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and was appointed Colombia's Ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

by President

Laureano Gómez Castro Laureano is a male name and a surname, both deriving from la, Laurentius, meaning "Laurel wreath, laurelled". Alternate spelling include Laurean (Romania, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Brazil, France, Mexico, Yugoslavia) and Laurian (Romani ...

. In 1949 he was appointed by President

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 ...

as Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs but declined the offer. However, four years later Valencia did accept the position and became Minister of Foreign Affairs on May 25, 1953, a post he held for the remainder of the administration of

Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez (27 June 1890 – 20 August 1972) was a Colombian Conservative party politician and lawyer who served as President of Colombia from November 1951 until June 1953, while President Laureano Gómez was absent due to healt ...

until General Rojas Pinilla took over. During the transitional government of the

Military Junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

that took power after the coup d'état that deposed General

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian Army of Colombia, Army general, civil engineer and dictator who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia as from June 1953 to May 1957. Rojas ...

, Valencia was under consideration to succeed the Junta. However, the political accord between the political forces of the time (in pursuit of a transition from a dictatorship to a democratic process), specified that 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 ...

succeed the Junta Militar. Consequently, Valencia had to wait until the following election. In 1962, Valencia was nominated by the

Colombian Conservative Party The Colombian Conservative Party ( es, Partido Conservador Colombiano) is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was formally established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and José Eusebio Caro. The Conservative party along ...

as their candidate for the presidency, facing the liberal

Alfonso López Michelsen Alfonso López Michelsen (30 June 1913 – 11 July 2007) was a Colombian politician and lawyer who served as the 24th President of Colombia from 1974 to 1978. He was nicknamed "El Pollo" (The Chicken), a popular Colombian idiom for people with ...

. Valencia won: 1,636,081 votes to 625,630.

Presidency

Valencia committed his administration to substantial economic and social reforms. On the economic front, he created the Junta Monetaria (Federal Reserve), doubled the production of electric power and promoted both oil drilling and the export of crude oil. In matters of social reform, his administration increased the national budget for education by 20%, and under the auspices of the government of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, launched the construction of Ciudad Kennedy, a project of 200,000 affordable homes for lower income citizens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valencia Munoz, Guillermo Leon 1909 births 1971 deaths Guillermo Leon People from Cauca Department Colombian Conservative Party politicians Members of the Senate of Colombia Ambassadors of Colombia to Spain Foreign ministers of Colombia Presidents of Colombia