| Dilian Francisca Toro MD | |
|---|---|
| Senator of Colombia | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 20, 2002 |
|
| President of the Congress of Colombia | |
| In office July 20, 2006 – July 20, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Claudia Blum |
| Succeeded by | Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 6, 1959 Guacarí, Valle del Cauca, Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Political party | Social National Unity Party |
| Other political affiliations |
Liberal (2002-2004) |
| Spouse(s) | Julio César Caycedo Zamorano (m. 1996) |
| Children | Julio César Caicedo Toro |
| Alma mater | Universidad Libre de Cali Federal University of Rio de Janeiro |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Rheumatologist |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.dilianfrancisca.org |
Dilian Francisca Toro Torres MD (born January 6, 1959) is a Colombian doctor and politician serving as Senator of Colombia. As Senator, Toro was elected President of the Congress of Colombia becoming only the second woman to do so.
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Dilian Francisca Toro Torres was born on January 6, 1959, in Guacarí, Colombia. She began her life in the public service when she was only 15 years old as a founder member of the Casa de la Cultura of Guacarí and started working with groups at risk.
She moved to Santiago de Cali to study Medicine in the Universidad Libre de Cali, where she graduated as a Surgeon and moved to Guacarí Brasil to specialize in rheumatology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Upon returning to Colombia, she was elected councilor for the Municipality of Guacarí, and in 1992 she became Mayor of Guacarí post which she occupied until 1994.
In 1996, she married former Senator Julio César Caycedo Zamorano in a religious ceremony officiated in the San Juan Bautista de Guacarí church,[1] that same year she was named Secretary of Health for the Department of Valle del Cauca. Toro inherited the political support once held by the former liberal party leader in Valle del Cauca Carlos Abadía who was jailed as part of the 8000 process scandal, in which members of the Cali Cartel financed the political campaigns of numerous politicians including the presidential campaign of Ernesto Samper who resulted elected.
Toro Torres was first elected to Congress as a candidate in the 2002 Legislative Elections for the Colombian Liberal Party receiving a total of 71,721 votes.[2]
Because of her support for President Álvaro Uribe and his bid for re-election, Toro was sanctioned by the Liberal Party in 2004, which prompted to join a desertation of Congressmen from different parties who joined to form the Social National Unity Party and backed President Uribe.
In July 2006 Toro was reelected as senator and elected President of the Congress of Colombia by a majority of votes in congress.
During the inauguration ceremony of President Álvaro Uribe for his second term, as president of the Congress of Colombia, she became the first woman to ever administer the oath of office to the President of the Republic of Colombia.[3] There was a controversy however, Toro made a mistake and placed the presidential band backwards, with the Colombian flag colors inverted. When Toro was interviewed about this, she explained that "it was to bring good fortune to the new government... ...because you are supposed to wear your panties inverted for good luck".[4]