Carlos Eugenio Restrepo

Restrepo quickly became an avid and respected lawyer moving up in different ranks. He worked as a Public Inspector of Education in 1888. He then became a prosecutor in the Supreme Court of Antioquia, a Judge of the lower circuit of Antioquia, and finally the Attorney General for the Department of Antioquia in 1898.

He later became a professor in the Law Department of the University of Antioquia, and also became the University's Rector. He also participated in various charities, he helped established the Colombian Red Cross in Medellín, became president of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Colombia, and founded the Society for the Improvement of Public Works in Medellín in 1901.[7]

Restrepo sided with the conservative party when he volunteered to fight in the civil war known as the Thousand Days' War (1899–1902). He served as Chief of Staff of the Army under the command of General Pedro Nel Ospina.[8][9]

Restrepo was a member of the Colombian Conservative Party.[8]

In 1904, General Rafael Reyes had decreed the creation of the "Cámara de Comercio de Medellín" (Chamber of Commerce of Medellín), to be presided by the Governor of Antioquia. On January 23, 1905, 26 members to the Board of Directors were elected, among them Alonso Angel, Ricardo Restrepo, Carlos Uribe, Apolinar Villa and Carlos E. Restrepo.[10]

He was elected to the House of Representatives of Colombia in 1909.[1]

On March 13, 1909 he founded the Unión Republicana or Republican Union, a political party that emphasized political reconciliation, Republican values, modernization, and National identity.[1] He took his Republican ideas from the French writer and critic Émile Faguet,[11] of whom he would later write a biography. This political movement had the support of prominent members of both Conservatives and Liberals like, José Vicente Concha, Pedro Nel Ospina and Miguel Abadía, from the Colombian Conservative Party and Nicolás Esguerra, Benjamín Herrera and Enrique Olaya from the Colombian Liberal Party.[12]

In 1910, General Ramón González Valencia had convened the National Assembly. Two conservative candidates were nominated to become the future President of Colombia: Restrepo and José Vicente Concha. On July 15, 1910, the election took place and Restrepo obtained 23 votes and Concha 18. Thus, Restrepo was inaugurated as President on August 7, 1910, succeeding General González Valencia.[8]

Restrepo was also involved in journalism and he collaborated in many magazines and newspapers of Antioquia, such as La Miscelánea (1888, 1905),[13] Lectura y Arte (1903), Alpha (1906, 1907, 1908, 1910) and "el Diario de Pedro",[14] with articles of political, literary, and religious subjects, and also helped with some translations. He worked as the editor in chief of El Correo de Antioquia, where he created a contest to help give music to the Anthem of Antioquia.[15]

Restrepo also founded and directed "Colombia" in 1891,[16] which was a newspaper severely censured by the bishops of the Catholic Church as they considered most dangerous due to its anticlerical and pro-lay stands and teachings.[17] In 1897, he also established the newspaper "el Montañés".[18]

He worked in poetry and wrote an extensive number of essays and letters[19] to friends and family due to the lack of local newspapers to express his opinions. Some of his works are:

• A mi hija Tulia (1893)
• Defensa en verso, de la mujer antioqueña (1894) (Under the pseudonym W. Ll. de Ch.)
• Los versos de Enrique W. Fernández (1896)
• Un héroe oscuro (1903)
• Risa trágica (1905)
• El saltimbanqui, el primero de los personajes colombianos (1906)
• Emilio Faguet (1916),
• Lo que enseña la vida maravillosa de Pasteur (1916)
• M. Tobón Mejía: un hombre y un artista (1917)
• Orientación Republicana (1917) (1930)
• Los neófitos (1917)
• Gregorio Gutiérrez González: la simbiosis del poeta y la tierra (1926)
• Pedro Justo Berrío, o el sentir común, la probidad y el carácter (1927)

Initially, Restrepo refused to run for the presidential candidature, and he did not have the support from the rest of the Representatives of Antioquia for his solid stand on Republicanism. However, there were a growing number of members who gave their support to Restrepo for fear of war against Peru, for his solid law background, and for his eloquence as an orator. There was also a need for new figures to take the lead, especially representatives from Antioquia, who had been left out of the presidential rotation. For all of these reasons, Restrepo was quickly included as a Presidential Candidate in the National Assembly of 1910, along with Guillermo Quintero Calderón, and José Vicente Concha.[8]

On July 15, 1910 The National Assembly elected the 42‑year‑old Restrepo to assume the Presidency of Colombia.[8][20] Restrepo had won the election with 23 votes in his favor against 18 votes for his contender José Vicente Concha. He became the first Antioquian to be elected to preside over the country. His victory was a surprise to many who considered him just a journalist, and more surprisingly yet, was his victory on both sides of the aisle winning the majority on both parties.

Restrepo was elected with no vice president as the National Assembly that had convened that summer had replaced the vice presidential post with that of a Designado, someone with no executive office or powers, who would, in the case of the president's death or inability to assume power, would then assume the presidency.

On August 7, 1910, Restrepo became the 12th President of Colombia succeeding the incumbent Ramón González Valencia, for the term 1910-1914.

Restrepo's presidential term ended on August 7, 1914, he was succeeded by José Vicente Concha, whom he had defeated in the previous election. His political party, Unión Republicana ceased to exist, with his former members quickly returning to party lines after his presidency. After leaving the presidency, he relocated to Medellín, and returned to his writings and business.

In 1920, under the leadership of Restrepo, the shipping company "La Naviera Colombiana" is created for the operation of steam ships of cargo and passengers in the Magdalena River. This was a revolutionary accomplishment, which transformed the Riverway systems of the country. The highlight of this enterprise was the introduction of luxury riverboats, the first in the nation to offer formal dining rooms, state rooms and first class service. The Naviera's first steam boat was "El Tolima", weighing 150 tons. By 1932, the Naviera's fleet accounted for more than 10,000 tons.[36]

He returned to politics in 1930, when he backed the nomination of his political friend, Enrique Olaya, as he presented a political plan that seemed to reflect the values of Republicanism. President Olaya elected him to serve in his cabinet as Minister of Government,[37] post he took on August 7, 1930 when Olaya Herrera assumed the presidency.

He was later appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the Vatican City State.[38]

Carlos Eugenio Restrepo died on July 6, 1937,[39] in his home in his natal city of Medellín at the age of 69 following an attack of pneumonia.

Carlos E. Restrepo and General Pedro Nel Ospina were the intellectuals of the new republican conservative party, which promoted the ideals of political reconciliation and moderation between partisan lines. His peace efforts were among his greatest legacy.[40]

During his time he was regarded as one of the most progressive and modern South American statesmen, a lawyer with wide experience, and an author of high reputation.[41]

• Enrique Olaya Herrera
• José Vicente Concha
• Separation of Panama from Colombia