Guillermo León Valencia
| Guillermo León Valencia | |
|---|---|
| 21st President of Colombia | |
|
In office 7 August 1962 – 7 August 1966 |
|
| Preceded by | Alberto Lleras Camargo |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Lleras Restrepo |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia | |
|
In office 25 May 1953 – 13 June 1953 |
|
| President | Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláeza |
| Preceded by | Evaristo Sourdis Juliao |
| Succeeded by | Juan Uribe Holguín |
| Colombia Ambassador to Spain | |
|
In office 1950–1953 |
|
| President | Laureano Gómez Castro |
| Preceded by | Francisco Umaña Bernal |
| Succeeded by | Alejandro Galvis Galvis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Guillermo León Valencia Muñoz 27 April 1909 Popayán, Cauca, Colombia |
| Died | 4 November 1971 (aged 62) New York City, New York, United States |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Susana López Navia (1931–1964) |
| Children |
|
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Guillermo León Valencia Muñoz (27 April 1909 – 4 November 1971) was the 21st President of Colombia from 1962 to 1966.
Valencia was born in Popayán, Cauca on April 27, 1909, to Colombian poet and politician Guillermo Valencia, and his wife Josefina Muñoz. On January 31, 1931 he married Susana López Navia, a 20-year-old secretary with whom he had four children: Pedro Felipe, Alma, Ignacio, and Diana.
Valencia was elected to the city council of Popayán and the Assembly of Cauca. Later he was also elected to the City Council of Bogotá and worked as diplomat for Colombia to the United Nations and was appointed Colombia's Ambassador to Spain by President Laureano Gómez Castro. In 1949 he was appointed by President Mariano Ospina Pérez as Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs but declined the offer; Valencia however accepted to become Minister of Foreign Affairs on May 25, 1953 during the remainder of the administration of Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez until General Rojas Pinilla took over.
During the transitional government of the Military Junta that took power after the coup d'état that deposed General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, Valencia was considered to succeed the Junta, but as the political accords of the time prescribed, a member of the Colombian Liberal Party should succeed the Junta Militar, and thus, Valencia had to wait until the following election. Effectively, in 1962, Valencia was nominated by the Colombian Conservative Party as candidate for the presidency. During the elections of 1962, Valencia faced in opposition the liberal Alfonso López Michelsen, but won the election with 1,636,081 votes over the 625,630 votes received by López.
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