Julio César Turbay Ayala

Julio César Turbay Ayala (18 June 1916 – 13

September 2005) was a Colombian lawyer and Julio César Turbay Ayala
politician who served as the 25th President of
Colombia from 1978 to 1982. He also held the
positions of Foreign Minister and Ambassador to
the United States.[1][2]

Contents
Biographic data
Political career
Presidency
1978 Security Statute
1980 Dominican embassy crisis
Post-presidency
Support for a prisoner exchange with the
FARC
25th President of Colombia
Personal life In office
Death 7 August 1978 – 7 August 1982
References Preceded by Alfonso López Michelsen
External links Succeeded by Belisario Betancur
Colombian Ambassador to Italy
In office
Biographic data 1991–1993
President César Gaviria Trujillo
Turbay was born in a rich neighborhood of “Voto
Nacional”, Bogotá, on June 18, 1916. His father, Preceded by Oscar Mejía Vallejo
Antonio Amín Turbay, was a businessman who Succeeded by Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza
emigrated from Tannourine, Lebanon.[3] His
Colombian Ambassador to the Holy See
mother, Rosaura Ayala, was a peasant from the
province of Cundinamarca. Turbay’s father, a In office
hard working merchant, had built a fortune, 1987–1989
which he completely lost during the civil war of President Virgilio Barco Vargas
the Thousand Days War.[4] Turbay Ayala
Succeeded by Fernando Hinestrosa Forero
completed his secondary studies in Bogotá, but
never attended college, and instead became Colombian Ambassador to the United States
an autodidact, a fact that his political adversaries In office
always poked fun at. He received a number of 29 April 1975 – 1976
honorary degrees later in life. President Alfonso López Michelsen
Preceded by Douglas Botero Boshel
Political career Succeeded by Virgilio Barco Vargas

Turbay started his political career in the Liberal 12th Colombian Ambassador to the United
Kingdom
Party as a councilman in the (then) town
of Usme in 1936. He would later be appointed as In office
major of the city of Girardot (1937), and then 6 January 1973 – 15 January 1975
councilman in the town of Engativá in 1938 along President Misael Pastrana Borrero
with fellow politicians Alfonso López Preceded by Camilo de Brigard Silva
Michelsen and Álvaro Gómez Hurtado. The next
few years he spent as a member of the Assembly Succeeded by Alfredo Vásquez Carrizosa
of Cundinamarca. In 1943 he was chosen for 11th Permanent Representative of Colombia to
congress as a Chamber Representative. He was a the United Nations
leader of the opposition to conservative In office
governments, and in 1953 became a member of 1967–1969
the national directive of the liberal party. With the
President Carlos Lleras Restrepo
rise to power of the military Junta that ousted
dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, Turbay was Preceded by Alfonso Patiño Rosselli
appointed Minister of Mines and Petroleum. He Succeeded by Joaquín Vallejo Arbeláez
was later appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia
president Alberto Lleras Camargo until 1961. He
was known as a strong defender of the National In office
Front, and was chosen as senator for four 7 August 1958 – 1 September 1961
consecutive periods between 1962 and 1974. He President Alberto Lleras Camargo
also served briefly as interim president in 1967.
Preceded by Carlos Sanz de Santamaría
He was also appointed as ambassador
the UN (1967-1969), United Kingdom (1973- Succeeded by José Joaquín Caicedo Castilla
1974), and the United States (1975-1976).[1][2] He 24th Minister of Mines and Petroleum of
first attempted to become a presidential Colombia
candidate in 1974, but ended up supporting López In office
Michelsen, who won the elections that year. The 11 May 1957 – 7 August 1958
sector supporting López Michelsen was
President Gabriel París Gordillo
instrumental in Turbay's presidential campaign of
1978, and after a very narrow election he became Preceded by Francisco Puyana
president of Colombia in 1978. Succeeded by Jorge Ospina Delgado
Personal details
Presidency Born Julio César Turbay Ayala
18 June 1916
Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
1978 Security Statute
Died 13 September 2005 (aged 89)
In response to an increase in guerrilla activity Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
from the 19th of April Movement (M-19) and
Nationality Colombian
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, as
well as to the Colombian Communist Party's Political party Liberal
attempts to extend its political influence and a Spouse(s) Nydia Quintero Turbay
1977 national strike, a 1978 decree, known as the (m. 1948; annulled 1983)
Security Statute, was implemented by Turbay's
Amparo Canal Sandoval
administration. (m. 1986)

The Security Statute gave the military an Children Julio César Turbay Quintero
increased degree of freedom of action, especially Diana Turbay Quintero
in urban areas, to detain, interrogate and
eventually judge suspected guerrillas or their Claudia Consuelo Turbay Quintero
collaborators before military tribunals. Human María Victoria Turbay Quintero
rights organizations, newspaper columnists, Occupation Lawyer
political personalities and opposition groups
complained about an increase in the number of
arbitrary detentions and acts of torture as a result.
Although the Security Statute allegedly benefited some of the counterinsurgency operations of the
security forces, such as the capture of most of the M-19's command structure and many of the
guerrilla group's urban cells, the measure became highly unpopular inside and outside Colombia,
promoting some measure of public sympathy for the victims of the real or perceived military
abuses whether they were guerrillas or not, and was phased out towards the end of the Turbay
administration.[5][6]

1980 Dominican embassy crisis

The M-19's late 1980 takeover of the Dominican Republic's embassy, during which sixteen
ambassadors were held hostage for 61 days, presented a complicated challenge to the Turbay
administration.[1][7]

The incident soon spread throughout worldwide headlines, as ambassadors from the United States
of America, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Israel and Venezuela had been taken hostage, as well as
Colombia's top representative to the Holy See.

Turbay, despite pressure from military and political sectors, avoided deciding to solve the crisis
through the use of direct military force, and instead eventually agreed to let the M-19 rebels travel
to Cuba. Allegedly, the rebels also received USD 1 million as payment, instead of the initial $50
million that they had originally demanded from the government.

That a mostly peaceful resolution to the crisis was found has been generally considered as a positive
aspect of Turbay's administration, as seen by later and contemporary commentators and
historians.

In particular, former M-19 members, including Rosemberg Pabón, the commander of the guerrilla
group's operative unit at the time, later recognized and respected Turbay's handling of the
situation.

Post-presidency
Turbay was a supporter of president Álvaro Uribe. He initially opposed the possibility of
presidential reelection in Colombia, but later changed his views, contributing to founding a
movement known as Patria Nueva ("New Homeland"), in order to help promote Uribe's 2006
reelection aspirations.

Support for a prisoner exchange with the FARC

Turbay was seen as being at odds with some of Uribe's policies, however, in particular due to
Turbay's activism in favor of the implementation and negotiation of a prisoner exchange with
the FARCguerrilla group. As part of this effort, Turbay participated in several meetings with the
relatives of FARC hostages and signed several declarations of support, together with other former
presidents such as Alfonso López Michelsen and Ernesto Samper Pizano.

On August 31, 2005, Turbay proposed that the government could exchange each jailed guerrilla for
10 "economic" hostages (those held for extortion purposes) and one "political" hostage (those held
by the FARC in order to pressure the Colombian government to release its jailed members).

Personal life
Turbay married his niece, Nydia Quintero Turbay, on July 1, 1948.[8] They had four children
together: Julio César, Diana, Claudia, and María Victoria. However, their marriage was annulled by
the Roman Catholic Church,[8] and in 1986 he married his longtime companion Amparo Canal, to
whom he remained married until his death. He is related to Paola Turbay.

In January 1991, Turbay's daughter, the journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped by orders of
the Medellín Cartel and died during a failed police rescue operation not sanctioned by her
family.[9] Her kidnapping is chronicled in News of a Kidnapping by the Nobel Prize-winning
author Gabriel García Márquez (1996) and depicted in multiple onscreen productions.

A personal idiosyncrasy of Turbay's was his custom of wearing bow ties, a sartorial habit extremely
uncommon in Colombia.

Death
Turbay died on 13 September 2005, at the age of 89.[10] He was honored by a state funeral
personally led by President Álvaro Uribe and was buried at the Sacromonte Caves at Canton Norte,
an army base in Bogotá.. He visited Lebanon with his family in 2003 as a final trip to the homeland
of his family.

References
1. "Julio Turbay, 89, Who Negotiated to Free Colombia Hostages, Is Dead". Associated Press.
Retrieved 2018-06-18.
2. "Julio César Turbay". The Daily Telegraph. 2005-09-13. ISSN 0307-1235.
Retrieved 2018-06-18.
3. EFE, Julio César Turbay Ayala, ex presidente de Colombia, El Mundo, September 15, 2005
4. Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; Gobernantes Colombianos; trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint
Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición; Page 249; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983
5. Semana. "Julio César Turbay, 1916-2005". Julio César Turbay, 19162005.
Retrieved 2018-06-18.
6. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "SIGLO XX EN EL TIEMPO. AÑO 1978". El Tiempo (in Spanish).
Retrieved 2018-06-18.
7. "VIOLENCE IN COLOMBIA: A TRAIL OF TURMOIL". Retrieved 2018-06-18.
8. "De Turbay, Belisario y otras movidas matrimoniales". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish).
2015-09-10. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
9. AP. "Publisher Slain in a Raid in Colombia to Free Her". Retrieved 2018-06-18.
10. "Julio César Turbay". September 13, 2005 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.

External links
Julio César Turbay Ayala at Find a Grave