Francisco de Paula Santander

Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (April 2, 1792 – May 6, 1840) was a Neogranadine military and political leader who served as Vice-President of Gran Colombia between 1819 and 1826, and was later elected by Congress as the President of the Republic of New Granada between 1832 and 1837. Santander played a pivotal role in the Colombian War of Independence being one of the main leaders of the Patriot forces and helped lead the Patriot Army alongside Simón Bolívar to victory. He's often credited with creating the legal foundations for democracy in Colombia, as well as creating the country's first system of public education. For these reasons he is considered a National Hero in Colombia and has thus commonly been known as "The Man of the Laws" (''"El Hombre de las Leyes"'') as well as the "Organizer of Victory" (''"El Organizador de la Victoria"'').

Francisco de Paula Santander was born into a wealthy criollo family in Villa del Rosario, in the Viceroyalty of New Granada and spent most of his formative years there. In 1805 he left his home to continue his education in the Viceregal capital of Santa Fe de Bogotá, while finishing his studies on July 20, 1810 he joined in the revolutionary fervor that would be movement for New Granadan Independence. At the age of 18 Santander abandoned his studies to begin his military career fighting for the Patriot cause against the Royalists initially with the Centralists but switched sides and became an officer in the army of the Federalist United Provinces of New Granada.

In 1813 he would be wounded and captured during the civil war between the Federalists and the Centralists, but was released to serve under Manuel del Castillo y Rada and Simón Bolívar in the defense of the Cucuta Valley from the Royalists. For the next 3 years Santander defended the valley from Royalist Incursion until he was defeated at the Battle of Cachirí during the Spanish Reconquest of New Granada. With the collapse of the first republic, he fled to the Casanare Province and joined forces with Venezuelan Patriot forces there first under the command of José Antonio Páez, and then joined Bolívar's forces in Guayana in 1817. Under the command of Bolívar during the 1819 Campaign to Liberate New Granada, Santander led his troops valiantly at the battles of Paya, Gameza, Vargas Swamp, and at Boyacá liberating his homeland from Spanish Rule.

With the creation of Gran Colombia in December 1819, Santander was initially chosen as Vice-President of Cundinamarca, in 1821 at the congress of Cúcuta he was elected as Vice-President of Gran Colombia with Bolívar as President. For the next 6 years, with Bolívar away on campaign, Santander became acting president of the new nation, using his administrative skills to create the foundations for the new republic. In 1827 political differences between him and Bolívar led to a rupture in their relationship, culminating in 1828 when Bolívar accused of him of having masterminded a plot to assassinate him. While no evidence was ever found to corroborate this, Santander was sentenced to the death however this punishment was changed and Santander was instead stripped of his titles and positions and sent into exile where he would spend next 4 years in Europe and in the United States. After the dissolution of Gran Colombia, in 1832 the newly established congress of the Republic of New Granada elected him as President where he served his term from 1832 to 1837. After the end of his presidency he was elected as a representative for Bogotá in the chamber of representatives, however his health began to rapidly decline resulting in his death on May 6, 1840. Provided by Wikipedia