José Bonifacio Aquileo Elias Parra y Gómez de la Vega was a Colombian soldier, businessman and

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was the

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 1876 and 1878.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 103; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983

Biographic data

Aquileo Parra was born in

Barichara Barichara is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. In 2010, in recognition of its history, architecture, and touristic potential, Barichara was declared a Colombian '' Pueblo Patrimonio'' (heritage town). ...

, Santander, on May 12, 1825. He died in

Pacho Pacho is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Pacho is part of the Rionegro Province and the urban centre is situated at a distance of from the capital Bogotá at an altitude of , while the altitude ranges from ...

, Cundinamarca, on December 4, 1900.

Early life

Parra began his early education in the public school of his home town of Barichara, but he was forced to drop out before graduating from high school because of economic hardship. He found a job making and selling hats, and he navigated the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...

, calling on the ports of

Magangué Magangué is a municipality of Colombia in the Department of Bolivar. The town is located in the Magdalena River; 20 km north of the mouth of the Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental an ...

, Mompós and

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 ...

. He eventually saved enough money to change jobs and became a politician. He spent all his free time learning and studying, and he became an autodidact and highly educated.

Political career

Parra takes his first steps as a politician in the state of Santander as state senator and later, in 1875, elected as president of the same state. He is also elected MP assists to congress for several terms. Para was also elected as delegate to the Constitutional Assembly of

Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is "Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro". Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the cit ...

. He served as minister of the treasury of President

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.Ar ...

and later, reappointed to the same position by President Santiago Pérez de Manosalbas. Parra also served in the military and participated in the civil wars against presidents José María Melo,

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. Colo ...

and the

Granadine Confederation The Granadine Confederation ( es, Confederación Granadina) was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It consisted of the present-day nations of Colombia a ...

(''"Confederacion Granadina"'') in 1861.

The presidency

Parra was elected President of Colombia by congress. During the general election for president in 1876, none of the three candidates obtained enough votes to become president. Thus, Congress decide the election by giving Parra 48 votes, Rafael Nuñez 18 votes and Bartolomé Calvo 18 votes.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 104; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983 becoming the first and only President of Colombia from Santander. Parra was inaugurated as President of Colombia on April 1, 1876. Three months later he had deal with the events that lead to the bloodiest civil war of the 19th century. The liberal party was divided in two groups, the "Radicals", loyal to Parra and the "Independent", loyal to Rafel Núñez. The Conservatives, united in one group, launched the military offensive in the States of Antioquia and Cauca.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parra, Aquileo 1825 births 1900 deaths People from Barichara Presidents of Colombia Presidential Designates of Colombia Colombian Liberal Party politicians