Presidents

President of "La Gran Colombia"

Francisco de Paula Santander
(1792-1840).
Vice President and President.
Presidential terms: 1819 and1826.
Born in Villa del Rosario.

President of the "Nueva Granada"

Francisco de Paula Santander (1792-1840).
Presidential term: 1832-1837
Born in Villa del Rosario.

Presidents of the Republic of Colombia

Ramón González Valencia (1851-1928).
Acting President between 1909 and 1910
Born in Pamplona.

Virgilio Barco Vargas (1921-1997).
Presidential term: 1986-1990
Born in Cúcuta.

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Outstanding People in Various Fields

Father Rafael García-Herreros (1909-1992) – Priest of the Catholic Church.
A humanist, philospher, poet, polyglot, writer, Father Garcia-Herreros was a professor of Greek, Philosophy, and Arts and a tireless preacher.
He was an initiator of the television program El Minuto de Dios and helped develop the borough El Minuto de Dios.
Father Garcia-Herreros was a founder of numerous educational centres and a developer of social programs throughout the country.
He was born in Cúcuta.

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Outstanding People in Various Fields (Cont.)

Rudesindo Soto (1852-1941) and Amelia Meoz de Soto (1856-1949) – Philanthropists.
Mr. And Mrs. Soto were the greatest benefactors of their hometown Cúcuta. They erected several new buildings and renovated the San Juan de Dios Hospital.
These laudable philanthropists also financed an old age home, the Amelia Hospital, the Children's Reformatory Centre, and a mental hospital. In 1938, the Soto's were awarded the Cross of Boyacá in recognition of their extraordinary generosity.

Erasmo Meoz Wills (1858-1918) – Medical doctor.
Recognized as a great and humane doctor, Dr. Meoz's compassion for the sick and dying was such that he traveled great distances by horse or mule to offer his help.
Dr. Meoz was a member of the Medical Corps at San Juan de Dios Hospital and the Mutual Aid Society.
He was born in Cúcuta.

Brigadier General Camilo Daza Álvarez (1898-1975) – Aviator. Pioneer of Colombian aviation.
This daring aviator, a member of the Colombian Air Force, was the first to fly over the City of Cúcuta in his Curtiss JN-4 biplane in 1922.
During a temporary retreat from the Army, he founded his own airline in the Eastern Plains region and started the ABC School of Aviation.
In 1963 Daza was invited by a commander of the Air Force of the United States, where he broke the sound barrier in flight.
To honour his memory the airport in Cúcuta was named after him.
He was born in Pamplona.