Alfonso López Pumarejo (31 January 1886 – 20 November 1959) was a Colombian journalist, economist, politician, and diplomat who served as the 16th and 18th president of Colombia, serving from 1934 to 1938 and from 1942 to 1945. He is the second Colombian president to serve two non-consecutive terms and the second Colombian president to resign from office after Rafael Núñez in 1888.
Born in Honda, Tolima, López is a prominent leader of the Liberal Party in Tolima. During his first presidency, he spearheaded the "Revolution in March," which promoted state modernization, social justice, and constitutional reform. He also championed secular education, free from state and church interference.
Biography
thumb|left|33 Wilton Crescent
thumb|left|Blue plaque, 33 Wilton Crescent
Alfonso López Pumarejo was born in Honda (Tolima) to Pedro Aquilino López Medina, a businessman and Rosario Pumarejo Cotes. Alfonso López Pumarejo went on to study at the London School of Economics. His son, Alfonso López Michelsen, was president of Colombia between 1974 and 1978.
The first administration of Alfonso López Pumarejo (1934–38) known as the "revolución en marcha", has proven an enduring theme of historical interest.
He was elected president in 1934 almost unopposed, and as the second participant of the so-called Liberal Republic in Colombia, his initial government platform became known under the name "Revolución en Marcha" (Marching Revolution), as it attempted to implement far reaching social and political reforms. López ran a campaign emphasizing reform, welfare programs, liberal democracy, constitutional reform, education reform (moving away from Church-provided education to public education), expansion of male suffrage, and land reform to redistribute idle land to the landless.
Several radical changes were promoted during his first administration, as the government supported the creation of labour unions and also passed the Law 200 of 1936, which allowed for the expropriation of private properties, in order to promote "social interest".