Colombia’s first liberal presidentThe year 1849 saw Lopez elected the first Liberal president and the beginning bipartisan political schism which would lead to numerous civil conflicts in Colombia. The election of 1853, only five years after the party’s beginning, saw the Liberal party split among three groups. Colombian Civil War (1860-62)At the time, Colombia was a federation and consisted of several separate states that were governed through the Congress of Colombia. Colombia had shifted to The United States of Colombia and a succession of Liberal presidencies began. This resulted in the Conservative-supported Liberal presidency of Rafael Nuñez who initiated the Regeneration and successful passed the 1886 Constitution, officially making Colombia the Republic of Colombia.