Ramón González Valencia Ramón González Valencia ( 1851 – 1928 ) was a Colombian conservative , military officer and statesman . He participated in the civil wars of 1876 , Colombian Civil War of 1895 , and the Thousand Days War . Biographic data . González Valencia was born in the town of Chitagá , Santander del Norte , on May 24 , 1851 . He died in the city of Pamplona , North Santander , on October 3 , 1928 . Military career . Although González Valencia was a young farmer , working in agriculture and cattle rising , he enlisted in the military during the civil wars of the time . His military career began in 1876 , at the battle of " “ Hatogrande ” " , the conservative revolt against President Aquileo Parra . Later , González Valencia , during the liberal revolt against President Miguel Antonio Caro , in 1895 , once again he enlists in the national army to fight for his conservative beliefs . He repeated this same action during the civil war of " “ the Thousand Days ” " . Throughout his military career he was highly regarded for his courageous and compassionate attitude . He was ascended to the rank of General of the Army . González Valencia also held the offices of " “ Jefe Civil y Militar ” " ( Military Governor ) of Santander Department and Minister of War during the administration of President José Manuel Marroquín , in 1901 . The Presidency . González Valencia , in 1904 , was chosen by the Colombian Conservative Party to be the running mate of Rafael Reyes as his vice - president . The Colombian Liberal Party abstained from participating in the presidential election of this year , and both Reyes and González Valencia won the election . Nevertheless , and soon after the election , their ideological differences became apparent . González Valencia was a right wing conservative and Reyes was a moderate . General Reyes , who was politically more ambitious than General González Valencia , could not forget the events of July 31 , 1900 , when Vice - President José Manuel Marroquín , with the aid of the military and the conservative party , had removed for m office President Manuel Antonio Sanclemente . Because President Rafael Reyes had opened the doors to a dialogue with the liberals , this made the conservatives very suspicious . Because General González Valencia was highly appreciated by both , the Army and the conservative party , this made General Reyes very uncomfortable . Thus , General Reyes had to contrive a plan to remove General González Valencia from the vice - presidency . He requested the intervention of two common friends of him and General González , the Ambassador of the Vatican City State , Nuncio Apostólico Monsignor Francisco Ragonessi and Don Luis Martínez Silva , to whom he expressed his concerns and intentions . General Reyes asked them to please communicate , in the best possible manner , to General González his decision . Therefore , Monsignor Francisco Ragonessi and Martínez Silva contacted General González Valencia , who was in Cúcuta . They conveyed the message and explained to him that General Reyes would very much appreciate his “ voluntary ” resignation to the office he had been elected to . All three agreed to meet in Duitama , an equidistant point between Bogotá and Cúcuta . On March 9 , 1905 , they met , as agreed , and General González Valencia submitted his resignation . General González Valencia served as Vice President under Rafael Reyes , who because of personal and professional differences , fired him and abolished the office of the vice presidency . It was not until the enactment of the Colombian Constitution of 1991 that the vice - presidency was reinstated again . He also served as Interim President of Colombia from August 3 , 1909 to August 7 , 1910 . General González Valencia , in his letter of resignation , addressed to the nation and not to General Reyes , said : " “ In the best interest of the country and for the high ideals of the party , I resign today voluntarily , before the nation that honored and trusted me with this high office , because of the incompatibilities between the President and the Vice - President ” " . The resignation was obviously not voluntarily , in light of the demands of the " “ dictador de facto ” " . The liberal party manifested great appreciation to Monsignor Ragonessi for his valuable service in furtherance of the peace process in the nation . The political tide and public opinion changed in disfavor of General Reyes . He resigned as President and handed over the office to President Interim Jorge Holguín . General Reyes , on his way out of the country , met with General González Valencia in the port of Gamarra and asked him to retake his office of Vice - President . General Reyes declined his offer , for obvious reasons . Nevertheless , once that General Reyes had left the country , Congress convened on July 20 , 1909 , and elected General González Valencia as president of Colombia . General González Valencia was inaugurated on August 3 , 1909 , and was to serve until August 6 , 1910 .