Hernando Durán Dussán (

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 largest ...

, 1920 –

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, 4 September 1998) was a Colombian lawyer and politician. He was the Mayor of Bogotá and a candidate for the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...

in 1990.

Biography

Durán Dussán was born in Bogotá in 1920, of Huilan ancestry. He attended secondary school at La Salle in Bogotá and also attended Antonio Nariño College before receiving his license to practice law from the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...

. In 1950, Durán Dussán participated in a political protest movement during the presidency of

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 ...

, for which he was sentenced to ten years in prison. He sought asylum in 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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

until a

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 ...

seized control of the government in 1958 and granted him amnesty, enabling him to return to Colombia.

Political career

Durán Dussán served as the head of the Ministry of Housing under Guillermo León Valencia, the Ministry of Mines under

Alberto Lleras Camargo Alberto Lleras Camargo (3 July 1906 – 4 January 1990) was the 20th President of Colombia (1958–1962), and the 1st Secretary General of the Organization of American States (1948–1954). A journalist and liberal party politician, he also se ...

, and the Ministry of Education under Alfonso López Michelsen. In the middle of the 1980s he became the president 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 Socia ...

. Durán was a staunch opponent of Luis Carlos Galán, the leader of the New Liberalism, and competed with him for the 1990 Liberal presidential nomination, but finished second to

César Gaviria César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National D ...

, who replaced Galán after the latter's assassination and won both the Liberal nomination and presidency. After his defeat, Durán retired, and became a supporter of

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in th ...

Death

After his retirement from politics, Durán moved to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in order to visit his daughter Sonia, the wife of the Colombian ambassador to Malaysia. Durán died in Kuala Lumpur of a respiratory infection in 1998 at the age of 78. His remains were returned to Colombia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, Dussan, Hernando 1920 births 1998 deaths Ministers of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia Colombian Ministers of National Education Ministers of Mines and Energy of Colombia Mayors of Bogotá Colombian Liberal Party politicians Politicians from Bogotá Colombian expatriates in the United States Colombian expatriates in France