Eustorgio Salgar Moreno Salazar (1 November 1831 – 25 November 1885) was a Colombian lawyer,

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and

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, who was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

United States of Colombia The United States of Colombia () was the name adopted in 1863 by the for the Granadine Confederation, after years of civil war. Colombia became a federal state itself composed of nine "sovereign states.” It comprised the present-day nat ...

from 1870 until 1872. Elected at age 39, he was the youngest president of Colombia.

Biographic data

Salgar 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 Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, Cundinamarca, on November 1, 1831. He died in the same city, on November 25, 1885.

Early life

Salgar attended what later became the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...

, where he studied jurisprudence. In 1851, at the age of 20, he obtained his law degree.

Political career

From 1853, he was the governor of the Garcia Rovira province and, when it was merged with

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in 1855, he assumed the new role of governor of the newly combined province until 1858. During that year, Salgar was a member of the briefly lived Granadine Confederation's senate and a year later became governor of the Sovereign State of Santander.

Military career

In 1859, Salgar enlisted in the army of General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera during the liberal uprising and the war against President Mariano Ospina Rodríguez. Salgar was captured in combat and tried for the insurgency. He was incarcerated until March 31, 1861, when General Mosquera took

Diplomatic career

Following his term as president, Salgar was appointed as ambassador to the

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until 1867.

The presidency

During the presidential election of 1870, the radical wing of the liberal party nominated Salgar as its candidate. The historical wing of the liberal party nominated General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera. Salgar obtained the majority of the popular vote and was elected president for the two-years term. He was inaugurated on April 1, 1870. During his brief presidency, he founded and promoted the country's first railway company and the first corporation intended to provide social security.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salgar, Eustorgio 1831 births 1885 deaths People from Bogotá Colombian Liberal Party politicians Presidents of Colombia Vice presidents of Colombia Presidential Designates of Colombia