The idea surged after former president Rafael Reyes (1904-1909) which was known as the Concordia Nacional, a conservative government that allowed half of its cabinet to be shared with liberals.
Years later, in 1946 the "Union Nacional" was offered by the then Conservative presidential candidate Mariano Ospina Pérez and put in practice as he was elected president.
Most of the population celebrated the toppling of Gómez and initially supported the military dictatorship of Rojas Pinilla whose intention was to bring to an end the political violence generated by El Bogotazo and Jorge Eliecer Gaitan's assassination.
Rojas Pinilla introduced an agrarian reform in an effort to solve the social disparities present in the countryside and appease armed peasants.
His intentions to quell the violence consisted of giving an amnesty to armed peasants and expanding his agrarian reform.
The political structure of the National Front was first set for a period of 16 years, in which each party would have two intercalated presidential terms.
This "coalition" endured until 1986 when president Virgilio Barco offered a low participation to the opposing party and then decided to abolish it.
Dialogues between the Liberal and Conservative parties were set to quell the hate and differences and the first step was agreed in the "Accord of Benidorm" (Spain) on July 24, 1956 between Alberto Lleras Camargo and Laureano Gomez in which both parties noted the decadence of the democratic system and decided on a more egalitarian system.
Then followed the "Declaration of Sitges" also in Spain on July 20, 1957 between Lleras Camargo and Gómez where they decided to introduce the National Front for 16 years alternating the presidency after a referendum.
Both leaders agreed to allow the Colombian Congress to appoint the Conservative candidate to initiate the National Front.
The National Front gradually pacified the bipartisan violence that endured for more than a century and generated the demobilization of some liberal guerrillas.
In 1964 the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group was born and was followed by other groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) on January 7, 1965, the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) in July 1967, the Quintín Lame Movement (MAQL) in 1984 and the 19th of April Movement (M-19).
However, this did not impede some non aligned candidates to run for the presidency despite being declared null or illegal but tried to surpass the needed majority vote established by the National Front.
[citation needed] The guerrilla groups created during this time greatly contributed to the evolution of the ongoing Colombian Armed Conflict.