Pedro Justo Berrío was a Colombian lawyer, soldier, and politician. He held several legislative positions throughout his life, including

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Anitioquia from 1864 to 1873. He was born in the municipality of

Santa Rosa de Osos Santa Rosa de Osos is a middle city and municipality of Colombia located in the northern of the department of Antioquia. Bounded on the north with the municipalities of Yarumal and Angostura, on the east with Guadalupe and Carolina del Principe, ...

of Antioquia Province (of

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia ( Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1 ...

) in 1827, and died in the city of Medellín, the capital of the Sovereign State of Antioquia in 1875. Several places in Antioquia are named after him, including

Berrío Park Berrío Park is an urban plaza located in the geographical heart of Medellín, Colombia. It is popular as a meeting place for local residents and as the main reference of the city for visitors, as there are several attractions nearby. The park i ...

, a plaza in the center of

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

Puerto Berrío Puerto Berrío is a municipality and town in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Geography Puerto Berrío is located in a region of Antioquia known as the Middle Magdalena (near the Magdalena River). It is bounded on the north by the munici ...

, and the

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

Pedro Justo Berrio School.

Early life

He was the son of Lorenzo Berrio Hernández, a trader and educator in Santa Rosa de Osos, and Juliana Rojas. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, philosophy, and law in the San Fernando

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in the city of Santa Fe of Antioquia. In 1851, he graduated as a lawyer 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 largest ...

, a city which saw the formation of the Liberal and Conservative parties. He adhered toward the principles of the latter. In 1858, he married Estefanía Díaz, with whom he had 6 children.

Governor of Antioquia

Pedro Justo Berrío became governor after his liberal predecessor was overthrown.

Manuel Murillo Toro Manuel Murillo Toro (January 1, 1816–December 26, 1880) was a Colombian statesman who served as President of the United States of Colombia (present day Colombia) on two occasions, first from 1864 to 1866, and again between 1872 and 1874.Ari ...

, who was a liberal and at the time was also

President of the United States of Colombia The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...

, accepted this action as ''

fait accompli Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engl ...

'', setting a precedent for self-determination in the federated states. In 1864, his first administration had the slogan, "peace, roads, and schools". As such, he passed laws that made primary education compulsory. He helped connect Antioquia to other parts of the country through the

Antioquia Railway The Antioquia Railway ( es, Ferrocarril de Antioquia) is a historic railway system in Colombia of freight and passenger trains that joined much of the central regions of the Antioquia department along the Magdalena river, and ultimately extende ...

starting in 1874. There is a plaque acknowledging his role in the railway construction outside the ''La Quebrada'' tunnel, which the trains used to pass through.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berrio, Pedro Justo Colombian governors Governors of Antioquia Department 1827 births 1875 deaths