Volume 1 | Issue 1

April 5, 2016

Government System of
Colombia

Background of
Government in Colombia

Since declaring its independence from Spain on July 20, 1810, Colombia has had various
constitutions. The most important one that has established the present-day unitary
republic, was the 1886 Constitution. It specifies that sovereignty resides in the nation,
which provides guarantees of civil liberties.

The Government of Colombia

The Republic of Colombia is a representative democracy with a central government and
separation of powers. The country has three branches of government: the Executive, the
Legislative and the Judiciary.

Executive Branch
The President is elected to a renewable, four-year term. He is both the chief of state and head
of government, and is elected on a national ticket with a Vice President.

Legislative Branch
There is a bicameral legislature consisting of a 102-member Senate and a 165-member House
of Representatives. Both chambers are directly elected to four-year terms.

Judiciary Branch

President and Vice

President of the
Republic

Colombias judicial system is composed of the following institutions: Supreme Court,

Prosecutor General Office, Superior Council of the Judiciary, Constitutional Court and
Council for Administrative Law Jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Justice is the highest
court of criminal law, and judges are selected for eight-year terms.

Juan Manuel Santos Calderon was

elected President of the Republic of
Colombia for the four year period between
August 7th, 2010 and August 7th, 2014. He
obtained more than 9 million votes, the
highest amount obtained by any candidate in
the history of Colombian democracy.

Angelino Garzn began his political

career as member of the Executive
Committee of the Colombian Communist
Party, and then as Vice President of the
Union Patriotica. Mr. Garzn has been