Mario Laserna Pinzón

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)
Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

Mario Laserna Pinzón (b. 1923) is a Colombian educator and politician. He was born in Paris of Colombian parents, and raised in Colombia. He attended Columbia University where he completed his undergraduate studies in Mathematics, Physics, and Humanities. He would go on to take a Master's degree at Princeton University and a Doctorate at the Free University of Berlin. Brandeis University would in later years award him a Doctorate Honoris Causa. Laserna is credited for being the founder of the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá. The university, incorporated in 1948, is a private institution modeled on the American liberal arts system.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Career
- 1.2 Marriages and Children
2 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Career

Laserna is widely admired in his country as an educator, a politician, and a passionate seeker of knowledge, with numerous books and studies to his credit. During the late 1940s and 1950s he came into contact with many important scientific figures of the day, including Albert Einstein.

Later on Laserna would serve as the Colombian Ambassador to Paris (1976-1979) and Vienna (1987-1990), and as a Senator of the Republic.

[edit] Marriages and Children

Laserna's son, Juan Mario Laserna Jaramillo, is an accomplished economist who at present sits on the board of the Banco de la República, the Colombian central bank. He began his term in March of 2005 after a stint as a consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank.

Laserna also has four daughters: Dorotea, Catalina, Julia and Liliana. Dorotea Laserna works within the agricultural industry and currently lives in Sevilla, Spain. Catalina Laserna is an accomplished scholar and professor of anthropology at Harvard University. Julia Laserna lives in Colombia and runs an art gallery. Liliana Laserna is a successful painter and sculptor.