Gustavo Rojas Pinilla

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Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was born in the city of Tunja, Colombia on March 12,1900 and died in Santa Fe de Bogotá, Colombia on January 17,1975. Rojas was a former military dictator (1953-1957) and Colombian political figure, as well as a former 1966 and 1970 presidential candidate on behalf of the National Popular Alliance, Alianza Nacional Popular,(ANAPO).

He began his career in the school of cadets Escuela de Cadetes of Bogotá in 1917. He obtained his degree in 1920. In 1923 while serving in Manizales, he was promoted to lieutenant in the army. He became dissatisfied with the army and in 1924 he requested permission to retire from active service so that he could be able to study Civil Engineering in Three State College, in the United States where he obtained the title of civil engineer in 1927. From there he started taking part in the construction of highways and other works of engineering as part of his military career.

In 1932, Rojas was called to the front lines in order to defend the country in the war against Perú. The following year he was assigned to Buenaventura's port as commander of the Coast Battery and military engineer of the region in case of a Peruvian attack. In 1936, he became an engineer of the technical department of the Colombian Army munitions factory on behalf of which he was sent on a special mission to Germany to obtain the machinery necessary to make ammunitions in Bogotá. On his return to Colombia he was nominated as chief of the technical department of the munitions factory.

In 1943, he was sent to the United States to acquire weapons and other machinery for the Colombian military. In 1944, he became assistant director of the School of War, and in 1945 the director of Civil Aeronautics. It was there where he presented his project for airports in Colombia under the name " Tracks of landing in Colombia ", which served as dissertation for his promotion to colonel of the Army, a plan which he would subsequently bring into being with the airport of El Dorado and other airports during his presidential order.

In 1946, already a colonel, Rojas was nominated as commander of the First Brigade in Tunja and in 1948 was named commander of the Third Brigade in Cali. There, he gained major recognition in the country for having managed to appease the rebellion that happened in this region as a consequence of the assassination of the popular leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in April 9, 1948, for which he was honored by the incumbent president at the time Mariano Ospina Pérez. On October 11 of the following year, he was promoted to General and on October 19 assigned to the General Direction of the National Army. On December 3 of the same year Rojas was named Minister of Post Office and Telegraphs (nowadays so-called Department of Communications) in the government of Mariano Ospina Pérez.

In 1950, he was nominated as a delegate for Colombia to the United Nations in Washington, and as such he inspected the battalion Colombia that one was fighting against communism during the Korean War. In 1952, he was designated general of the Armed forces of Colombia by stand-in president Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez during the government of Laureano Gómez.

On June 13, 1953, Rojas seized power by means of a coup d'état supported by liberals and conservatives.

Spanish version has more information. Help translating to English is welcome.

Preceded by Laureano Gómez

President of Colombia as military dictator June 13, 1953–May 10, 1957

Succeeded by Military Junta headed by General Gabriel París Gordillo