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Julio César Turbay Ayala

Julio César Turbay Ayala
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25th President of Colombia
In office
7 August 1978 (1978-08-07) – 7 August 1982 (1982-08-07)
Preceded by Alfonso López Michelsen
Succeeded by Belisario Betancur Cuartas
Colombia Ambassador to Italy
In office
1991–1993
President César Gaviria Trujillo
Preceded by Oscar Mejía Vallejo
Succeeded by Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza
Colombia Ambassador to Holy See
In office
1987–1989
President Virgilio Barco Vargas
Succeeded by Fernando Hinestrosa Forero
Colombia Ambassador to United States
In office
29 April 1975 (1975-04-29) – 1976
President Alfonso López Michelsen
Preceded by Douglas Botero Boshel
Succeeded by Virgilio Barco Vargas
12th Colombia Ambassador to United Kingdom
In office
6 January 1973 (1973-01-06) – 15 January 1975 (1975-01-15)
President Misael Pastrana Borrero
Preceded by Camilo de Brigard Silva
Succeeded by Alfredo Vásquez Carrizosa
11th Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations
In office
1967–1969
President Carlos Lleras Restrepo
Preceded by Alfonso Patiño Rosselli
Succeeded by Joaquín Vallejo Arbeláez
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia
In office
7 August 1958 (1958-08-07) – 1 September 1961 (1961-09-01)
President Alberto Lleras Camargo
Preceded by Carlos Sanz de Santamaría
Succeeded by José Joaquín Caicedo Castilla
24th Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Colombia
In office
11 May 1957 (1957-05-11) – 7 August 1958 (1958-08-07)
President Gabriel París Gordillo
Preceded by Francisco Puyana
Succeeded by Jorge Ospina Delgado
Personal details
Born Julio César Turbay Ayala
(1916-06-18)18 June 1916
Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Died 13 September 2005(2005-09-13) (aged 89)
Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Nationality Colombian
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s)
Children
Occupation Lawyer
Religion Roman Catholic

Julio César Turbay Ayala (18 June 1916 – 13 September 2005) was a Colombian lawyer who served as the 25th President of Colombia from 1978 to 1982. He also held the positions of Foreign Minister and Ambassador to the United States.

Turbay was born in a poor neighborhood of “Voto Nacional”, Bogotá, on June 18, 1916. His father, Antonio Amín Turbay, was a businessman who emigrated from Tannourine, Lebanon. His mother, Rosaura Ayala, was a peasant from the province of Cundinamarca. Turbay’s father, a hard working merchant, had built a fortune, which he completely lost during the civil war of the Thousand Days War.

In response to an increase in guerrilla activity from the 19th of April Movement (M-19) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, as well as to the Colombian Communist Party's attempts to extend its political influence and a 1977 national strike, a 1978 decree, known as the Security Statute, was implemented by Turbay's administration.

The Security Statute gave the military an increased degree of freedom of action, especially in urban areas, to detain, interrogate and eventually judge suspected guerrillas or their collaborators before military tribunals. Human rights organizations, newspaper columnists, political personalities and opposition groups complained about an increase in the number of arbitrary detentions and acts of torture as a result.

Although the Security Statute allegedly benefitted some of the counterinsurgency operations of the security forces, such as the capture of most of the M-19's command structure and many of the guerrilla group's urban cells, the measure became highly unpopular inside and outside Colombia, promoting some measure of public sympathy for the victims of the real or perceived military abuses whether they were guerrillas or not, and was phased out towards the end of the Turbay administration.


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