María Michelsen de López

María Michelsen de López (née Michelsen Lombana; February 17, 1890 - January 22, 1949) was a Colombian philanthropist, scientist, and the first lady of Colombia from 1934 to 1938, and again from 1942 to 1946 as the wife of President Alfonso López Pumarejo.

Early life

Maria Michelsen Lombana was born into a prestigious family of merchants and bankers. She was the daughter of scientist Carlos María Michelsen Uribe and his wife, Antonia Lombana Buendía y Barreneche.

Her father was the son of a Danish Jewish immigrant, Karl Michelsen Koppel, who, in turn, was related to the German industrialists Kopp Koppel, founders of the Bavaria brewery. Michelsen was the first Danish consul in Colombia following his commercial success in his native country.

First Lady of Colombia (1934-1938 & 1942-1945)

María Michelsen de López's husband, Alfonso López Pumarejo, was elected president of Colombia in 1934, to succeed fellow liberal Enrique Olaya Herrera. María was the first woman to carry the title of first lady of the nation in Colombia, despite the fact that the figure already existed (tacitly) since the time of the republic with Simón Bolívar. From that moment on, the wife of the president of the day began to gain greater social importance.

María Michelsen de López co-founded, with Clemencia Holguín de Urdaneta, Tulia Umaña de Vargas, Jorge Bejarano, Emilio de Brigard Ortiz, Manuel Casabianca, José Antonio León Rey, Jorge Obando, and Manuel Antonio Suárez Hoyos, helter for Abandoned Children, which was inaugurated on November 22, 1934.

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