Francisco de Paula Santander

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Francisco de Paula Santander
Oil painting by Ricardo Acevedo Bernal.
1st President of the Republic of the New Granada
In office October 7, 1832 – April 1, 1837
Vice President	José Ignacio de Márquez
Preceded by	Office Created
Succeeded by	José Ignacio de Márquez
5th Vice President of the Gran Colombia
In office November 3, 1821 – September 19, 1827
President	Simón Bolívar
Preceded by	José María del Castillo
Succeeded by	Domingo Caycedo (1830)
Personal details
Born	Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (1792-04-02)2 April 1792 Villa del Rosario, Pamplona Province, Viceroyalty of New Granada
Died	6 May 1840(1840-05-06) (aged 48) Santa Fe de Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Republic of New Granada
Nationality	Neogranadine
Political party	Federalist
Spouse	Sixta Pontón
Children	Francisco de Paula Jesús Bartolomé, Clementina Santander y Pontón, Sixta Tulia Santander y Pontón
Alma mater	Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé Universidad santo Tomás
Awards	Cross of Boyacá Order of the Liberator Medal of the Liberators of Cundinamarca
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Cundinamarca 1810-1812  United Provinces of New Granada 1812–1816  Venezuela 1816-1818  United Provinces of New Granada 1818-1819  Gran Colombia 1819
Branch/service	New Granadan Army (1810-1816) Liberator Army of New Granada and Venezuela (1816-1819) Gran Colombian Army (1819)
Years of service	1810-1819
Rank	General of Division
Battles/wars	Colombian War of Independence Battle of San Victorino Battle of La Grita Defense of the Cúcuta Valley (1813) Battle of Llanura de Carrillo Reconquest of Cúcuta (1814) Spanish reconquest of New Granada Battle of Cachirí Invasion of Casanare (1819) Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada Battle of Paya Battle of Gámeza Battle of Vargas Swamp Battle of Boyacá Venezuelan War of Independence

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").^[1]

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.