Rafael Núñez Moledo

1. Training and Public Early Years

Born in Cartagena into a family of modest position, Rafael Núñez studied Jurisprudence at the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Rosario and graduated as a lawyer in 1845. He served as a judge and prosecutor before becoming fully involved in liberal politics.

He fought in the liberal ranks during different civil conflicts in the middle of the century and held positions as governor of the province of Cartagena, consul of Colombia in Le Havre and Liverpool, and several times Secretary of State (Treasury, Development and Foreign Relations) under different radical governments.

2. From Radical Liberal to Leader of Regeneration

After years of service under radical liberalism, Núñez distanced himself from his former political allies, believing that the federalist Constitution of Rionegro (1863) had excessively weakened the central state. He founded the National Party, a coalition of moderate Liberals and Conservatives.

Elected president for the first time for the period 1880–1882, and again in 1884, he promoted what he himself called theRegeneration: a project of political centralization, strengthening of the Executive and reconciliation with the Catholic Church, summed up in its famous slogan “Regeneration or Catastrophe”.

3. The Constitution of 1886 and the New State

After the outbreak and defeat of the radical rebellion of 1885, Núñez promoted the drafting of a new constitution. TheConstitution of 1886replaced the federal model with a unitary, centralist republic, established the official name “República de Colombia”, and restored the Concordat with the Holy See the following year.

This Constitution, with numerous reforms, governed the country for more than a century, until 1991, making Núñez one of the most decisive figures in Colombian institutional history.

4. Poet, Author of the National Anthem and Numismatic Legacy

In addition to being a statesman, Núñez cultivated poetry and philosophical essays. He is the author of the lyrics ofNational Anthem of the Republic of Colombia, originally composed as an ode and set to music in 1887 by Oreste Síndici, later adopted as the official anthem of the country.

For much of his life he governed remotely from his residence in Cartagena, leaving the day-to-day management of the government in the hands of his vice presidents, among them Miguel Antonio Caro. He died in his villa in El Cabrero in 1894, without formally leaving office.

Legacy for collectors:Before his presidency, as Secretary of the Treasury, he personally signed the bills ofOne Pesoissued in 1861 by the General Treasury, Bogotá, United States of New Granada. A specimen of this issue, with its handwritten signature, can be seen in the catalog entry for theA Peso from 1861of the collection.