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

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and a

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

political figure A politician is a person who participates in policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles or duties tha ...

, a member of the

Colombian Liberal Party The Colombian Liberal Party (; 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 Socialist International in 1999. Th ...

. He was born on October 13, 1897, in

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

, 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 New Kingdom of Granada, Spanish period) is the capital of Tolima Department, Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city ...

, 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. 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 from 1934 to 1938 and aga ...

, 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 Academic staff of the Free University of Colombia Ambassadors of Colombia to the Holy See Ambassadors of Colombia to the United Kingdom Presidential Designates of Colombia Ministers of foreign affairs of Colombia Ministers of justice and law of Colombia Ministers of national education of Colombia Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia Acting presidents of Colombia Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia Echandía family