Darío Echandía Olaya (1897 - 1989) was a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and a Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n political figure, as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party

Colombian Liberal Party

The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...

. He was born on October 13, 1897 in Chaparral

Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...

, Tolima as the elder of seven brothers, and died on May 7, 1989 in Ibagué

Ibagué

Ibagué is the capital of the department of Tolima in Colombia. It is situated 1,285 m above sea level, on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Central between the Chipalo and Combeima rivers, tributaries of the Coello River...

, Tolima.

During his lifetime, Darío Echandía served as deputy for Tolima, senator for Tolima, president of the senate, magistrate in the Supreme Court of Justice, and in the ministries of Government, Education, Justice and Foreign Relations. He was also the Colombian ambassador to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

.

Darío Echandía was designated as acting president of Colombia on four different occasions: From 1943 to 1944 due to the temporary absence of Alfonso López Pumarejo

Alfonso López Pumarejo

Alfonso López Pumarejo was a two-time Colombian president and political figure, as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. He served as president of Colombia for the first time between 1934 and 1938 and again between 1942 and 1945....

, in 1944 due to a kidnapping attempt against Pumarejo, briefly in 1960, and briefly in 1967.

The Darío Echandía Library (Biblioteca Darío Echandía) in Ibagué was inaugurated in 1984 in his honor.