Pedro Nel Ignacio Tomás de Villanueva Ospina Vásquez (18 September 1858 – 1 July 1927) was a Colombian general and political figure. He served as

president 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 ...

between 1922 and 1926.

Biography

Ospina was born 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 ...

, on September 18, 1858. He was born in the Presidential Palace, as his father

Mariano Ospina Rodríguez Mariano Ospina Rodríguez was a Colombian politician, journalist and lawyer, founder of the Colombian Conservative Party and later President of Colombia between 1857 and 1861Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colom ...

was president of Colombia at the time.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 175; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983 He died in

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 ...

, on July 1, 1927.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 178; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983

Educator

Colombia's first significant effort in mining engineering was brought about by the Escuela Nacional de Minas in the city of

. This institution was conceived strictly as a mining institute, modeled after the School of Mines of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, from which its first directors, Ospina and his brother Tulio Ospina were graduated. When the school began its second life after 1904, it also offered degrees in chemistry, civil, electrical, mining and mechanical engineering. As rectors of the school, echoing the themes of their father, they insistently preached the virtues of work, discipline and practicality.Safford, Frank R., ''The Ideal of the Practical'', University of Texas Press, Page 201

Engineer and entrepreneur

''Antioqueño'' engineers thought of themselves primarily as industrial entrepreneurs rather than agents of state policy. Although some, such as Ospina and his nephew

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 ...

, became highly successful in national politics, antioqueño engineers continued to nurture the self-image of the apolitical, economically practical, hardworking paisa.Safford, Frank R., ''The Ideal of the Practical'', University of Texas Press, Page 225, Since 1910, successful businessmen and engineers emerged from the business community of

, as did Ospina, who was a Berkeley-trained mining engineer and an industrial entrepreneur as well as a large-scale agriculturalist.Safford, Frank R., ''The Ideal of the Practical'', University of Texas Press, Page 238,

Politics

Ospina was elected MP to the Camara de Representantes (House of Representatives) in 1892 and 1894 for the province of Antioquia. During his first term he sponsored the bill to derogate the “Ley de los Caballos” and introduced a bill to enact the ''“freedom of speech”''.Melo, Jorge Orlando; ''Historia de Antioquia'', trans. History of Antioquia; Editorial Presencia Ltd.; Primera Edición; Page 138; Bogotá, Colombia; November, 1988 During his second term he sponsored a bill to restructure the Banco Nacional (National Bank).Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 177; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983 Ospina was a General of the Army during the civil war of the

Thousand Days' War The Thousand Days' War ( es, Guerra de los Mil Días) was a civil war fought in Colombia from 17 October 1899 to 21 November 1902, at first between the Liberal Party and the government led by the National Party, and later – after the Cons ...

. In 1901 he was appointed as Minister of War by President

José Manuel Marroquín Jose Manuel Cayetano Marroquín Ricaurte (August 6, 1827 – September 19, 1908) was a Colombian political figure and the 27th President of Colombia. Biographic data José Manuel Marroquín was born in Bogotá, on August 6, 1827. He died in ...

.Melo, Jorge Orlando; ''Historia de Antioquia'', trans. History of Antioquia; Editorial Presencia Ltd.; Primera Edición; Page 141; Bogotá, Colombia; November, 1988 President

Carlos Eugenio Restrepo Carlos Eugenio Restrepo Restrepo (September 12, 1867 – July 6, 1937) was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and statesman, who was elected President of Colombia in 1910.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italg ...

, in 1910, appointed Ospina as the Colombian Ambassador to the United States. Upon his return to the country, he was elected to congress and later as Governor of Antioquia. In 1918, Ospina was appointed as Governor of the province of Antioquia. Later, in 1920, during the government of President

Marco Fidel Suárez Marco Fidel Suárez (April 23, 1855 – April 3, 1927) was a Colombian political figure. He served as president of Colombia from 1918 to 1921. He was born on April 23, 1855, in the town of Hatoviejo, Antioquia. His parents were Rosalía Suárez ...

, Ospina was elected by congress as the nation's presidential designate.

Presidency

In 1922, he was elected as Colombia's 36th president. During his administration, he organized the Departments of Education, Health and the Treasury. He created the Central Bank (

Banco de la Republica The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress ...

) and greatly advanced critical public works, such as the main national highways and railways systems, dams and bridges, and the crude oil pipelines connecting the mayor oil-fields to the sea ports. Ospina, as president of the republic between 1922 and 1926, secured the creation of a modern central bank, and in 1928 he created the Bogotá stock exchange. During his administration, banking and commerce expanded and became more organized.Safford, Frank R., ''The Ideal of the Practical'', University of Texas Press, Page 233, Museo Cementerio San Pedro(8)-Medellin

References

External links

"Colombia elects Ospina President"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. February 14. 1922. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ospina, Pedro Nel 1858 births 1927 deaths Children of presidents of Colombia Politicians from Bogotá Presidential Designates of Colombia Colombian mining engineers Colombian governors Colombian generals Colombian Conservative Party politicians Presidents of Colombia University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Antioquia people

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meanin ...

Burials in Colombia