Alfonso López Pumarejo

Alfonso López Pumarejo was born on January 31, 1886, in Honda into an illustrious banking dynasty. Educated in finance at the London School of Economics, López Pumarejo entered politics as a brilliant progressive Liberal reformer, winning the presidency in 1934.

His administration launched the historic Revolución en Marcha (Revolution on the March): passing the 1936 Constitutional Reform that established property as a social function, legalizing trade union collective bargaining, guaranteeing women access to public office, and constructing the White City campus of the National University of Colombia (UNAL) in Bogotá. He later served as Colombia's Ambassador to the United Nations and the Court of St James's.