Presidents
(Arranged chronologically by their administration)

President of "La Nueva Granada"

General José María Melo (1800-1860)
Presidential term: 1854.  
Born in Chaparral.

Presidents of the "Confederación Granadina"

Manuel Murillo Toro (1816-1880)
Presidential term: 1864-1866 / 1872-1874
Born in Chaparral.

Presidents of the Republic of Colombia

Miguel Abadía Méndez (1867-1947)
Presidential term: 1926-1930.
Born in Piedras.

Alfonso López Pumarejo (1886-1959)
Presidential term: 1934-1938 / 1942-1945
Born in Honda.

Darío Echandia Olaya (1897-1989)
Presidential term: 1944. Born in Chaparral.

General Gabriel París Gordillo (1910-2008)
Presidential term: 1957-1958 (Military Junta)
(President of the Military Junta).

Major General Deogracias Fonseca Espinosa (1908-2006)  
Presidential term: 1957-1958 (Military Junta).
Born in Ibagué.

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Outstanding People in Various Fields

Religious Figures

His Eminence Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo (1935-2008).
He served as Emeritus Archbishop of Medellín and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
Ordained as a Cardinal by the Pope John Paul II, he received the red skull-cap and the title of S. Prisca. He was born in Villahermosa (Tolima).

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Scientist

Manuel Elkin Patarroyo – Medical doctor and biochemist
An immunologist and medical researcher who developed the world's first safe and effective laboratory vaccine against Malaria, he had drug companies offer him more than 67 million dollars for the rights to the vaccine. Instead, he chose to donate them to the World Health Organization.
The scientific world has bestowed him with over 50 awards, such as "The Edinburgh Medal" which is the highest recognition England grants to a scientist, the “Prince of Asturias Prize" and the " Robert Koch Prize ".
Patarroyo has been a professor and an author of three scientific books and more than 100 publications. He was born in Ataco in 1946.

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Colombian Culture and Television

Gloria Valencia de Castaño – Journalist, promoter of Colombian culture, TV hostess.
One of the dearest and most appreciated people in Colombia has to be Gloria Valencia. Her intellect, grace and elegance made her deserve the title of "First Lady of the Colombian television".
This great promoter of Colombian culture has been an excellent television hostess, dealing with a wide range of subjects.
Among the many recognitions she has received are the Nemqueteba Prize, which is awarded to the best hostess in the country, the Simón Bolívar National Prize on Journalism and the "Catalina de Oro " prize. She was born in Ibagué in 1927.

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