César Gaviria
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| César Gaviria Trujillo | |
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40th President of the Republic of Colombia
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| In office August 7, 1990 – August 7, 1994 |
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| Preceded by | Virgilio Barco Vargas |
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| Succeeded by | Ernesto Samper Pizano |
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| Born | March 31, 1947 Pereira |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Ana Milena Muñoz de Gaviria |
César Gaviria Trujillo (born March 31, 1947) is a Colombian politician and a Latin American stateman. He served as President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, and Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 until 2004.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Pereira, Gaviria has been an important figure in Colombian politics for over 30 years. He was first elected to Congress in 1974. He served in Virgilo Barco Vargas's government, first as minister of finance and later as minister of the interior.
He was the debate chief of Luis Carlos Galán during the latter's 1989 presidential campaign, which was cut short by his violent death. After this tragedy, Gaviria was then proclaimed as the political successor to Galán.
[edit] Presidency
In 1990 he was elected President of the Republic for the Liberal Party. During his government the new constitution was adopted in 1991, and he fought against the Cali drugs cartel and various guerrilla factions.
Under his presidency, the prison La Catedral is built under Pablo Escobar specifications and Pablo Escobar is imprisoned there, where he continues to control his drug empire, judging and killing inside the prison several crime partners. On July 20th, 1992 Pablo Escobar flees the prison after knowing he was going to be moved to another prison.
[edit] Secretary General of the OAS
In 1994, Gaviria was elected Secretary General of the OAS (his period beginning after the end of his presidential term in August 1994). Reelected in 1999, he has worked extensively on behalf of Latin America; between November 2002 and May 2003, he served as an broker in finding a solution to the Venezuelan political crisis between President Hugo Chávez and the opposition.
[edit] Advisor
After leaving the OAS Gaviria founded the international advisory firm The Otun Group, located in New York City providing political risk and strategic advice to corporations, investment professionals and individuals with operations and investments in Latin America.
[edit] Current
Returning to Colombia in early 2005 after several visits in late 2004, Gaviria once again became active in politics, and was proclaimed as the sole chief of the Colombian Liberal Party in June 2005. He has declared that his goal is to promote the party's reunification in order to make it a viable alternative in the upcoming 2006 presidential elections.
On April 27, 2006 his sister Liliana Gaviria was killed by unknown gunmen. Apparently Liliana was coming home in her car when several people in a red Mazda 626 intercepted her and her bodyguard. It is believed that the gunmen tried to kidnap her and in an exchange of fire with the bodyguard she received a shot to her heart (through the abdomen). Her body, which also presented a head bruise, was recovered 3 kilometers away from her house alongside a car. President Álvaro Uribe has offered 1,000,000,000 pesos (around 350,000 euros) for any information regarding the location of the persons responsible for her death.
| Preceded by: Virgilio Barco Vargas |
President of Colombia 1990–1994 |
Succeeded by: Ernesto Samper Pizano |
| Preceded by: João Clemente Baena Soares |
Secretary General of the Organization of American States 1994-2004 |
Succeeded by: Miguel Ángel Rodríguez |
