Zaldúa, Francisco Javier (1821–1882)

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Zaldúa, Francisco Javier (1821–1882)

Francisco Javier Zaldúa (b. 3 December 1821; d. 21 December 1882), Colombian president. Born in Bogotá, Francisco Javier Zaldúa was a distinguished professor of law and an active member of the Liberal Party. He served frequently in Congress and in other positions, and presided over the constituent convention of Ríonegro in 1863. In the subsequent division of the party between the more doctrinaire Radicals and the Independents who followed Rafael Núñez, Zaldúa initially aligned himself with the latter, even though he was essentially a moderate. Thus both factions accepted him as their presidential candidate in 1881. Despite that consensus, however, his term was marked by bitter wrangling with Congress, cut short by his death after less than a year as president.

See alsoNúñez Moledo, Rafael .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

James William Park, Rafael Núñez and the Politics of Colombian Regionalism, 1863–1886 (1985), pp. 226-235.

Ignacio Arizmendi Posada, Presidentes de Colombia 1810–1990 (1989), pp. 163-166.

Additional Bibliography

Delpar, Helen. Rojos contra azules: el Partido Liberal en la política colombiana, 1863–1899. Santafe de Bogotá, Colombia: Procultura, 1994.

                                          David Bushnell