Lleras Restrepo, Carlos

▪ 1995

      Colombian politician (b. April 12, 1908, Bogotá, Colombia—d. Sept. 27, 1994, Bogotá), served as president of Colombia 1966-70 and fostered economic union in Latin America as the driving force behind the Andean Pact, an agreement that forged trade links between Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Lleras Restrepo, a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, practiced law before gaining political prominence as head of the Liberal Party in 1941 and again from 1948 to 1950. His second term as party president began after his predecessor, Jorge Gaitán, was assassinated, an event that touched off a decade of violent unrest between the Liberals and Conservatives in Colombia. After his home was burned to the ground, Lleras Restrepo spent two years in exile in Mexico. His bid for the presidency in 1978 was not supported by the party. Nonetheless, he remained active both in politics and as a journalist, writing for his magazine Nueva Frontera.

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