Background
Alfonso López Michelsen was born in Bogota on 30 June 1913. The son of President Alfonso López Pumarejo.
government official lawyer president
Alfonso López Michelsen was born in Bogota on 30 June 1913. The son of President Alfonso López Pumarejo.
He was educated in Europe and at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. He received his law degree at the University of Chile.
After pursuing private law practice, López Michelson became active in his father’s political movement in the 1930s. Subsequently, he continued active in the leadership of the Liberal Party. In 1958 he established the Movimiento Revolucionario Liberal (MRL) to oppose the National Front arrangement between Liberals and Conservatives for alternating power between the two parties. He was elected senator by the MRL.
López Michelson made his peace with the leadership of the Liberal Party and the National Front. As a consequence, he was named governor of César Province in 1967-1968 and became a leading figure in the Liberal Party.
Alfonso López Michelson served as president of Colombia between 1974 and 1978, the first president to be elected after expiration of the National Front agreement.
Alfonso López Michelson ran for president again in 1982 but was defeated by Conservative nominee Belisario Betancur Cuartas.