Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala (January 23, 1903 – April 9, 1948) was a left-wing Colombian politician and charismatic leader of the Liberal Party. He served as the mayor of Bogotá from 1936-37, the national Education Minister from 1940-41, and the Labor Minister from 1943–44. He was assassinated during his second presidential campaign in 1948, setting off the Bogotazo  and leading to a violent period of political unrest in Colombian history known as La Violencia (approx. 1948 to 1958).