Rafael Nuñez

Rafael Núñez Moledo, 1891, Museo Nacional , Bogotá

Rafael Núñez Moledo, ca.1885

Rafael Wenceslao Núñez Moledo (born September 28, 1825 in Cartagena , † September 18, 1894 in Cartagena ) was President of Colombia from 1880 to 1882 and from 1884 to 1887. He is considered the father of the Colombian Constitution of 1886 and wrote the text of the current Colombian National anthem .

Early years

Little is known about Rafael Núñez's childhood, youth and early career. It is known that in 1848 he served as judge in the judicial district of Chiriquí , in the province of Panama, which was then part of Colombia . Later that year he founded the La Democracía newspaper in Cartagena to support General José María Obando's presidential candidacy to succeed José Hilario López . Also in the same year he was appointed secretary of the government of Cartagena, which marked the beginning of his political career.

In 1853 he was first elected to the Congress, and later governor of the Bolívar Department . Between 1855 and 1857, during the Manuel María Mallarino government , he was Minister of Finance and War.

In 1855 he published a first collection of political essays entitled La Federación . He later served as Minister of Finance during the Mosquera government .

After representing Colombia's interests in the negotiations for the Rio Negro Treaty, he traveled abroad. First he lived in New York City for two years , then he represented Colombia in Le Havre and finally became consul in Liverpool .

In 1874, while in Europe, many of his most important writings were published.

Political career in Bogotá

In 1876 he returned to Colombia, at the center of a political dispute. He had been selected as a presidential candidate back in 1875, but did not actually get elected. However, five years later, from 1880 to 1882, he held the presidency for the first time. Soon after, in 1884, he was re-elected president with the support of the Conservative Party.

The constitutional reform of 1886, which he carried out in collaboration with Miguel Antonio Caro , is his most important political achievement. This constitution, with some later amendments, was essentially in force until a new constitution was proclaimed in 1991.

From 1878 to 1888 he wrote hundreds of influential articles on constitutional reform for the Bogotá newspapers La Luz and La Nación and the Cartagena newspapers El Porvenir and El Impulso . He also wrote the lyrics of the Colombian national anthem.

In 1886 he was re-elected president, and in 1888 he finally withdrew from active politics. He retired in Cartagena, where he died in 1894.

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personal data
SURNAME	Núñez, Rafael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Núñez Moledo, Rafael Wenceslao (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Colombian politician, President of Colombia (1880–1882 and 1884–1887)
DATE OF BIRTH	September 28, 1825
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cartagena
DATE OF DEATH	September 18, 1894
Place of death	Cartagena