The history of Colombia includes its settlement by indigenous peoples and the establishment of agrarian societies, notably the Muisca Confederation, Quimbaya Civilization, and Tairona Chiefdoms. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of annexation and colonization, ultimately creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada, with its capital at Bogotá. Independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 the resulting "Gran Colombia" Federation was dissolved. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858) and then the United States of Colombia (1863) before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. A period of constant political violence ensued, and Panama seceded in 1903. Since the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict which escalated in the 1990s but decreased from 2005 onward. The legacy of Colombia's history has resulted in a rich cultural heritage, and Colombia's geographic and climatic variations have contributed to the development of strong regional identities.
The Colombian Liberal Party is a centre to centre-left political party in Colombia. It was founded as a classical liberal party but later developed a more social-democratic tradition, joining the Socialist International in 1999.
The Colombian Communist Party is a legal communist party in Colombia. It was founded in 1930 as the Communist Party of Colombia, at which point it was the Colombian section of the Comintern. The party is led by Jaime Caycedo and publishes a weekly newspaper named Voz.
The 19th of April Movement, or M-19, was a Colombian urban guerrilla movement active in the late 1970s and 1980s. After its demobilization in 1991 it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance, or AD/M-19.
The Alternative Democratic Pole is a left-wing political party in Colombia, active from 2005 to the present. In 2022 it was successful at the polls and formed the Government of Colombia.
The Colombian Conservative Party is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was formally established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and José Eusebio Caro.
The Revolutionary Independent Labour Movement, or MOIR, is a left-wing party in Colombia that was founded in 1970. Francisco Mosquera was the founder and ideological leader of MOIR. In August 1994 he died, after which Hector Valencia became the Secretary General of the party. In 2008 Valencia died and the union leader Gustavo Triana, vice president of the country's largest union, was elected Secretary General.
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was a Colombian army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship from June 1953 to May 1957.
The Independent Democratic Pole or (PDI), was a left-wing social democratic political party in Colombia.
Colombian Conservatism is a system of conservative political beliefs in Colombia that is characterized by protectionism, support of Catholic values, social stability and anti-totalitarianism. Its history began with the creation of two conservative political parties in Colombia. One characteristic of the Colombian Conservatism, in contrast to many other geographic subsets of conservatism, is its strong emphasis on protectionism, which is considered by many Colombian conservatives to be necessary to create a fair market.
National Front was a period in the history of Colombia in which the two main political parties, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, agreed to rotate power, intercalating for a period of four presidential terms. The National Front Presidents were Alberto Lleras Camargo (Liberal), Guillermo León Valencia (Conservative), Carlos Lleras Restrepo (Liberal), and Misael Pastrana Borrero (Conservative).
Samuel Gustavo Moreno Rojas was a Colombian lawyer and politician, son of former congressman Samuel Moreno Díaz and former presidential candidate María Eugenia Rojas Correa, grandson of former Colombian political-military authoritarian leader and ex-president Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. His brother Iván Moreno Rojas is a former Mayor of Bucaramanga, minister and senator. On 28 October 2007, Moreno Rojas was elected Mayor of Bogotá representing the Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) for the 2008–2012 term. On 3 May 2011, Moreno was suspended and stripped of his office by the Office of the Inspector General for improprieties in the appropriation of city contracts. For the same accusations, the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia argued for a pretrial detention, and Moreno was arrested on 23 September 2011. He was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years of prison for his direct involvement in a corruption scheme during his term.
Gabriel París Gordillo was a Colombian military officer and political leader who ruled the country as the chairman of a military junta from May 1957 to August 1958, following the resignation of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. París oversaw the regime's transition to electoral democracy after four years of military dictatorship, and turned over power to Alberto Lleras Camargo of the National Front.
Jaime Alfonso Bateman Cayón, also known as "El flaco" or Comandante Pablo by his fellow guerrilleros, was a Colombian guerrilla leader and both founder and commander of the 19th of April guerrilla movement.
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo was a central trade union confederation in Colombia. CNT was formed in 1953, with support from the military government of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. CNT was built up along the lines of the Argentinian peronista unions, and CNT was affiliated to the Agrupación de Trabajadores Latinoamericanos Sindicalistas. CNT received financial aid from ATLAS. Moreover, CNT received direct support from the Colombian Ministry of Labour through the minister Aurelio Caicedo Ayerbe. CNT was given access to issue propaganda through public radio stations.
General elections were held in Colombia on 19 April 1970 to elect the president, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. It was the first time all three institutions had been elected on the same day, and was also the last election under the National Front agreement, which had restricted electoral participation to the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, with each party allocated 50% of the seats in both houses, whilst the presidency alternated between the two parties. As a result, the main contest in parliamentary elections was between factions within each party, whilst only Conservative candidates ran for the presidency. The result was a victory for Misael Pastrana Borrero, who received 40.7% of the vote. However, supporters of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla claimed that the election had been rigged in favour of Pastrana. Rojas had also been supported by the Christian Social Democratic Party. The 19th of April Movement guerrillas traced their origins to this alleged fraud.
General elections were held in Colombia on 21 April 1974 to elect the President, Senate and Chamber of Representatives. They were the first elections after the end of the National Front agreement, which had restricted electoral participation to the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, with each party allocated 50% of the seats in both houses, whilst the presidency alternated between the two parties.
Presidential elections were held in Colombia on 25 May 2014. Since no candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off between the two candidates with the most votes took place three weeks later on 15 June 2014. According to the official figures released by the National Registry office, as of 22 May 2014 32,975,158 Colombians were registered and entitled to vote in the 2014 presidential election, including 545,976 Colombians resident abroad. Incumbent president Juan Manuel Santos was allowed to run for a second consecutive term. In the first round, Santos and Óscar Iván Zuluaga of the Democratic Center were the two highest-polling candidates and were the contestants in the 15 June run-off. In the second round, Santos was re-elected president, gaining 51% of the vote compared with 45% for Zuluaga.
Humane Colombia, formerly known as the Progressive Movement, is a Colombian left-wing political movement and party founded in 2011 and led by President Gustavo Petro. The youth wing of the party is known as Juventud Humana.
The first family of Colombia is the family of the president of Colombia, who is both head of state and head of government of Colombia. It is an unofficial title for the family of a republic's head of state. Members of the first family consist of the president, the First Lady of Colombia, and any of their children. However, other close relatives of the president and first spouse, such as parents, grandchildren, stepchildren, and in-laws, may be classified as members of the first family for context purposes. The first family of Colombia live in the presidential residence Casa de Nariño in Bogotá, Colombia.
