armed liberal militias led by General Cenón Figueredo. Olaya Herrera participated in a confrontation in the village of Nocaima, Cundinamarca. After the war Olaya Herrera continued studying Law and finally graduated with a thesis entitled "La Liberacion Condicional" (The Conditional Liberation), which was then published by the University. In 1904 he obtained a doctorate in jurisprudence and in 1906 he traveled to Belgium where he studied diplomacy and sociology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles focusing on diplomacy, politics and journalism. Politics and constitutional reform Upon his return from Belgium, Olaya Herrera joined the cause against the government of General Rafael Reyes criticizing the treaties between the United States and Colombia, and the loss of Panama. On 13 March 1909 Olaya Herrera publicly made a speech during a Liberal Party event against Reyes' dictatorship, in the presence of the most important members of the Liberal Party. This made him officially a part of the political movement against the dictatorship that was initiated by Nicolás Esguerra, José Vicente Concha and Miguel Abadía Méndez, a movement that was called "Trecemarcismo," from "13 de Marzo" (March the 13th), after his speech. Once President Reyes had to resign as a result of their action, on 16 March 1909, Olaya Herrera put himself forward for the Constituent Assembly and was later elected. He helped reform the Colombian Constitution of 1886 representing the then-existing Quesada Department. Among his party members participating were Rafael Uribe Uribe, Benjamín Herrera, Gabriel Vargas Santos, Nicolás Esguerra, Tomás O. Eastman, Carmelo Arango and Tomás Quevedo Álvarez. The conservative deputies were Carlos E. Restrepo, José Vicente Concha, Pedro Nel Ospina, Guillermo Valencia, Emilio Forero, Hernando Holguín, Abel Carbonell, Pedro M. Carreño and Guillermo Quintero Calderón. Both sides concluded the constitutional reform and initiated a period of reconciliation, political tolerance and a sense of nationalism. Carlos Eugenio Restrepo assumed the presidency of Colombia from 1910 until 1914 sponsored by the Republican Party which Olaya Herrera supported. President Restrepo appointed Olaya Herrera as the first Minister of Foreign Relations on 7 August 1910 until his resignation on 23 November 1911. During the administration of President Jorge Holguín, Olaya Herrera was appointed to the same office from 1921 until January 4, 1922, and also served as Minister of Agriculture. During the 1920s Olaya Herrera served also as a diplomat (mainly improving Colombian relations with the United States) and with the Colombian congress. Presidential candidate During