José María Rojas Garrido (June 7, 1824 – July 18, 1883) was a Colombian

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, and statesmen, who as the first Presidential Designate became Acting President of the United States of Colombia (now the Republic of

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 ...

) in 1866 during the absence of President elect

Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera Tomás Cipriano Ignacio Maria de Mosquera y Figueroa Arboleda Salazar, Prieto de Tovar, Vergara, Silva, Hurtado de Mendoza, Urrutia y Guzmán (September 26, 1798 – October 7, 1878) was a Colombian general, political figure, and slaveholder ...

. He was a prominent journalist for several

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. For example, while the political systems ...

newspapers, and is considered one of the most important

orators Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

in Colombia's history.

Political career

José María Rojas Garrido had a wide and extensive political career, serving at the Local, Departmental and National levels, and in the

Legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and Judicial branches of the National Government.

Early political career

Rojas Garrido received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

in 1847 from the ''Colegio de San Bartolomé''. In 1851 he was appointed Governor of the Province on Neiva by his close friend President

José Hilario López José Hilario López Valdés (18 February 1798, Popayán, Cauca – 27 November 1869, Campoalegre, Huila) was a Colombian politician and military officer. He was the President of Colombia between 1849 and 1853.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ...

. In 1856 he was elected to the Chamber of Representatives for the State of Antioquia, and shortly after was appointed

Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

by President

José María Obando José María Ramón Obando del Campo (August 8, 1795 – April 29, 1861) was a Neogranadine General and politician who twice served as President of Colombia. As a General, he initially fought for the Royalist Army during the Independence Wars o ...

. Rojas Garrido had a very close relationship with General Mosquera, they were close friends, and Rojas Garrido was appointed four times to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

four times, during the various administrations of Mosquera. In 1861 he served as Governor of the Province of Bogotá, and in 1862 served as

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

in the Antioquia State Assembly, and from 1862 to 1863 he regained the office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs, having this time also control of the Ministry of War and Navy. In 1864 he returned to Venezuela this time as

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

and Special Commissioner. When he returned return to New Granada he was elected by Congress to the Supreme Court of Colombia.

Presidency 1865

In 1866, former President General

was elected once again to the Presidency. On February 17, 1866, Congress held elections for the Presidential Delegates for that

calendar year A calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. The Gregorian calendar year, which is in use as civil calendar in ...

and elected José María Rojas Garrido First Presidential Designate, and

Santos Acosta Manuel María de los Santos Acosta Castillo (November 1, 1828 – January 9, 1901) was a Colombian General and political figure. He served as the president of Colombia from 1867 until 1868. Biographic data Acosta was born in Miraflores, Bo ...

, and Marcelino Gutierrez as the Second and Third Presidential Designates. The Presidential Delegates were those who because of the abolishment of the office of Vice President were in line to succeed the President in his absence. The title did not carry an official office, but because General Mosquera was in Europe at the time, Rojas Garrido assumed the office of the Presidency on April 1, 1866,

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

in the absence of the President Elect as the 3rd President of the United States of Colombia, until May 22, 1866 when General Mosquera returned to the country and was sworn in.

Post presidency

After ceding power, José María Rojas Garrido remained an active advisor to the President being appointed one last time as Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He was later re-elected as Magistrate to the Supreme Court in 1870, and in 1872, Rojas Garrido ran an unsuccessful bid for the Presidency, losing the election to Manuel Murillo Toro. José María Rojas Garrido remained in the Supreme Court until his death on July 18, 1883, in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

because of a

pulmonary congestion The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas Garrido, Jose Maria 1824 births 1883 deaths Ambassadors of Colombia to Venezuela Colombian governors Colombian journalists Colombian male journalists 19th-century Colombian judges Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia Colombian Liberal Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Presidents of Colombia Presidential Designates of Colombia People from Huila Department 19th-century journalists 19th-century male writers

Political career

Early political career

Presidency 1865

Post presidency

See also

References