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JUNE 11, 2001

Floro Tunubala is the first Indian ever to be elected Governor in Colombia but the position is just one of many accomplishments in his life.

Tunubala, 62, grew up on the Guambiano Reservation but attended an elite high school and college. He married his former grade school teacher who happened to be a former Catholic nun.

In 1991, he helped change the country's constitution to recognize Indian rights. He was also elected to the Senate the same year.

Tunubala then ran for Governor of Cauca, where about 15 percent of the population is Indian. He was elected last fall and took office in January and has received a number of death threats.

Get the Story:
Colombia's first Indian governor shakes up old-style politics (AP 6/11)