Luis Antonio Robles Suárez (24 October 1849 – 22 September 1899) also known as "El Negro Robles", was a Colombian lawyer and politician. He was the first

Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...

to hold a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

-level ministry in Colombia serving as Secretary of the Treasury and Public Credit during the administration of

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 ...

Aquileo Parra Gómez, as well as being the first Afro-Colombian

Congressperson A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

as Member of the Chamber of Representatives for Magdalena, and the first Afro-Colombian Governor of a Department, as the 16th President of the Sovereign State of Magdalena. He graduated a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

from

Our Lady of the Rosary University The Universidad del Rosario, officially Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, is a Colombian private university founded on Roman Catholic principles, by Fray Cristobal de Torres in 1653. Located in Bogotá, due to its important place in ...

in 1872, thus also becoming the first Afro-Colombian to ever serve as a lawyer in Colombia.

Career

left, Oil on canvas painting of Luis Antonio Robles by Epifanio Julián Garay y Caicedo.

Personal life

Born on 24 October 1849 in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Camarones in the Municipality of

Riohacha Riohacha (; Wayuu: ) is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department. It has a sandy beach wa ...

, then part of the

Riohacha Province Riohacha Province was a province of Gran Colombia. With the 1824 changes in the subdivisions of Gran Colombia, it became part of Magdalena Department. Riohacha (Spanish pronunciation: joˈa.tʃa Wayuu: Süchiimma , is a city in the Riohacha Munic ...

, in the

Department of Magdalena Magdalena () is a department of Colombia, located in the north of the country by the Caribbean Sea, with more than 1.3 million people. The capital of the Magdalena Department is Santa Marta and was named after the Magdalena River. The depart ...

New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia: *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1822 *United Provinces of ...

; his parents were Luis Antonio Robles and Manuela Súarez, both

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

freedpersons of moderate means. He died on 22 September 1899 of

cystitis A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects a part of the urinary tract. Lower urinary tract infections may involve the bladder (cystitis) or urethra ( urethritis) while upper urinary tract infections affect the kidney (py ...

infection in his longtime residence ''le Maison Doré'' 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 ...

at the age of 49, not having married and with no descendants still recovering from the death of his mother earlier that year. His childhood home in Camarones was designated a national monument, and his remains, which had been interred at the

Central Cemetery of Bogotá Central Cemetery of Bogotá (Spanish language, Spanish: ) is one of the main and most famous cemeteries in Colombia located in Bogotá. Houses several national heroes, poets and former Colombian presidents. It was opened in 1836 and was declared N ...

, were transported to be interred at his childhood home which operates as a Cultural House, Library and Training Center. *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Luis Antonio 1849 births 1899 deaths People from La Guajira Department Del Rosario University alumni Academic staff of the Free University of Colombia 19th-century Colombian lawyers Colombian Liberal Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia Colombian Secretaries of Treasury and Public Credit Colombian people of African descent

Career

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading

External links