Simón Bolívar joined the movement against Spanish rule in Venezuela in 1810 and participated in the republic declared the following year. Its collapse in 1812 forced him into exile. From New Granada he organized the Admirable Campaign of 1813, recapturing Caracas and receiving the title Liberator. The renewed republic also fell amid royalist resistance and internal divisions.

In exile Bolívar set out his political ideas in the Jamaica Letter of 1815. Haitian president Alexandre Pétion provided assistance for his return in 1816, connecting that support with emancipation. Bolívar increasingly sought to broaden participation beyond the creole elites, although racial and social inequalities were not eliminated. Establishing a base around the Orinoco, he combined forces from different regions and developed the political project of a larger Colombian republic.

Bolívar's army crossed the Andes in 1819 and defeated royalist forces at Boyacá, securing New Granada. The Republic of Colombia, later called Gran Colombia, united territories corresponding broadly to modern Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Victory at Carabobo in 1821 secured most of Venezuela, while Antonio José de Sucre's victory at Pichincha in 1822 brought Quito into the new republic. Bolívar met José de San Martín at Guayaquil that year and then assumed a leading role in the final campaigns against Spanish power in Peru.

Bolívar's forces won at Junín in 1824, and Sucre's victory at Ayacucho ended the principal Spanish army's resistance. Upper Peru became Bolivia in 1825 and adopted a constitution associated with Bolívar that provided for a powerful presidency. His effort to combine republican legitimacy with strong central authority became increasingly controversial. Regional leaders resisted Gran Colombia's central government, and his assumption of dictatorial powers in 1828 deepened conflict.

Bolívar resigned in 1830 as Venezuela and Ecuador separated and his health deteriorated. He died near Santa Marta that December before leaving South America as he had planned. His military and diplomatic leadership was decisive in several independence movements, but the new states were created by many armies, communities, and political actors. His career left a lasting tension between liberation from colonial rule, social reform, and the concentrated executive power he believed necessary to prevent disorder.