Luis Antonio Robles Suárez (24 October 1849 – 22 September 1899)
also known as "El Negro Robles", was a Colombian lawyer and politician. He was the first
Afro-Colombian to hold a
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
-level
ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
in Colombia serving as
Secretary of the Treasury and Public Credit during the administration of
President Aquileo Parra Gómez
José Bonifacio Aquileo Elias Parra y Gómez de la Vega was a Colombian soldier, businessman and political figure. He was the President of Colombia between 1876 and 1878.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian P ...
, as well as being the first Afro-Colombian
Congressperson as Member of the
Chamber of Representatives for
Magdalena, and the first Afro-Colombian Governor of a
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, ...
, as the 16th President of the
Sovereign State of Magdalena
The Magdalena State ( es, Estado del Magdalena) was one of the states of Colombia. Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern-day areas of the departments of Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira, northern Colombia.
Provinces
* E ...
.
He graduated 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 ...
from
Our Lady of the Rosary University in 1872, thus also becoming the first Afro-Colombian to ever serve as a lawyer in Colombia.
Career
left, Oil on canvas painting of Luis Antonio Robles by Epifanio Julián Garay y Caicedo.
Personal life
Born on 24 October 1849 in the
hamlet of Camarones in the Municipality of
Riohacha, then part of the
Riohacha Province, in the
Department of Magdalena,
New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia.
*New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717
*Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819
*United Provinces of ...
; his parents were Luis Antonio Robles and Manuela Súarez, both
black freedpersons of moderate means.
He died on 22 September 1899 of
cystitis infection in his longtime residence ''le Maison Doré'' 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 ...
at the age of 49,
not having married and with no descendants still recovering from the death of his mother earlier that year.
His childhood home in Camarones was designated a national monument, and his remains, which had been interred at the
Central Cemetery of Bogotá
Central Cemetery of Bogotá (Spanish: ) is one of the main and most famous cemeteries in Colombia located in Bogotá. Houses several national heroes, poets and former Colombian presidents. It was opened in 1836 and was declared National Monument i ...
,
were transported to be interred at his childhood home which operates as a Cultural House, Library and Training Center.
[
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See also
*
Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata
Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata (born 11 November 1978) is a Colombian engineer and professor. She served as the 8th Minister of Culture of Colombia in the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Moreno became the first Afro-Colombian wom ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Luis Antonio
1849 births
1899 deaths
People from La Guajira Department
Del Rosario University alumni
Academic staff of the Free University of Colombia
19th-century Colombian lawyers
Colombian Liberal Party politicians
Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia
Members of the Senate of Colombia
Colombian Secretaries of Treasury and Public Credit
Colombian people of African descent
