César Gaviria

César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo (Spanish: [ˈsesaɾ awˈɣusto

ɣaˈβiɾja tɾuˈxiʝo] ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian César Gaviria
economist and politician who served as the President of
Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of
the Organization of American Statesfrom 1994 to 2004 and
National Director of the Colombian Liberal Party from 2005 to
2009. During his tenure as president, he summoned
the Constituent Assembly of Colombia that enacted
the Constitution of 1991.

Contents
Early life and education
Political career
Presidency
Secretary General of the OAS
7th Secretary General of the
Adviser and scholar Organization of American States
President In office
Popular culture 15 September 1994 –
Sources 15 September 2004

External links Preceded by João Clemente

Baena Soares
Succeeded by Miguel Ángel
Early life and education Rodríguez
28th President of Colombia
Born in Pereira, the Gaviria family had been an important In office
figure in Colombian politics and economy for over 30 years.
7 August 1990 – 7 August 1994
César Gaviria is the distant cousin of José Narces Gaviria, the
CEO of Bancolombia from 1988 to 1997. José N. Gaviria Preceded by Virgilio Barco
encouraged César Gaviria to run for the Congress of Colombia Vargas
in early childhood. He was first elected to Congress in 1974. He Succeeded by Ernesto Samper
served in Virgilio Barco's government, first as Minister of
Minister of Interior and Justice
Finance and later as the Minister of the Interior.[1]
In office
As a student, Gaviria spent a year as an exchange student in the May 1987 – February 1989
United States with AFS Intercultural Programs. President Virgilio Barco
Vargas
Before entering politics, he studied at the University of the
Andesin the 1960s. He established AIESEC there, and then in Preceded by Fernando Cepeda
1968 was elected President of AIESEC in Colombia. This began Ulloa
his public service career. Succeeded by Raúl Orejuela
Bueno
Political career 57th Minister of Finance and
Public Credit of Colombia
At 23, he was elected councilman in his hometown of Pereira, In office
and four years later he became the city's mayor. In 1974 he was 7 August 1986 – 17 June 1987
elected to the Chamber of Representatives, of which he was
President Virgilio Barco
president of in 1984–85. Three years later he became co-chair Vargas
of the Colombian Liberal Party. Preceded by Hugo Palacios
He was the debate chief of Luis Carlos Galán, during Galan's Mejía
1989 presidential campaign, which was cut short by Galan's Succeeded by Luis Fernando
assassination. After this tragedy, Gaviria was proclaimed as Alarcón Mantilla
Galan's political successor. This campaign was the target of Member of the Chamber of
attacks by Pablo Escobar; Gaviria was to take Avianca Flight Representatives of Colombia
203, bound for Cali. For security reasons he did not board the
In office
flight. The plane, with 107 people aboard, exploded, killing
20 July 1974 – 20 July 1986
everyone on board.[2]
Constituency Risaralda
Department
Presidency President of the Chamber of
Representatives of Colombia
In 1990, he was elected President of Colombia, running as
In office
a Liberal Party candidate. During his government a new
20 July 1984 – 20 July 1985
constitution was adopted in 1991.[3] As president, Gaviria also
led the fight against the Medellín and Cali drug cartels, and Preceded by Hernando Gómez
various guerrilla factions. Otálora
Succeeded by Daniel Mazuera
Under his presidency, the prison La Catedral was built, but
Gómez
to Pablo Escobar's specifications. When Escobar was
imprisoned there, he continued to control his drug empire; he Personal details
also murdered several of his rivals inside the prison. On 20 Born César Augusto
July 1992, Escobar escaped after learning that he was going to Gaviria Trujillo
be moved to a different prison. On 2 December 1993, the
31 March 1947
notorious drug lord was shot dead, a triumph for the Gaviria
Pereira, Colombia
administration.
Nationality Colombian
Despite stable economic growth and foreign investment, 45 per
Political party Liberal
cent of Colombians lived below the poverty line (particularly in
rural areas) and slums were growing around major cities. Children Simón Gaviria
Created by drug traffickers and supported by the army Muñoz
(President Gaviria said he saw them as a "possible María Paz Gaviria
solution"), paramilitary groups (autodefensas) were often
Muñoz
engaged in fighting the country's various guerrilla factions. In
cities, these groups carried out social cleaning missions. Alma mater University of the
Tramps, marginalized people, street children and homosexuals Andes (BEcon, 1969)
were murdered by these groups. Many judges, several senators,
Occupation Economist
priests, and even the head of the national police have been
convicted of links with traffickers.[4]

Secretary General of the OAS

In 1994, Gaviria was elected Secretary General of the OAS (his term beginning after the end of his
presidential term in August 1994). Reelected in 1999, he worked extensively on behalf of Latin
America. Between October 2002 and May 2003, he served as international facilitator of the OAS
mesa process, aimed at finding a solution to the internal Venezuelan political crisis between
President Hugo Chávez and the Coordinadora Democrática opposition.[5]

Adviser and scholar

 After leaving the OAS, Gaviria worked briefly in New York as an
advisor and scholar at Columbia University. Upon his return to
Colombia, he founded an art gallery named Nueveochenta, and
has remained in the country ever since.

President

Gaviria was proclaimed the sole chief of the Colombian Liberal

César Gaviria heading the OAS Partyin June 2005. On 27 April 2006, his sister Liliana Gaviria
session (left) and then US was killed by unknown gunmen.[6]
Secretary of State, Colin Powell.
Gaviria is a member of the Club of Madrid,[8][9] an independent
non-profit organization created
COLOMBIA'S FOUR FAILED PEACE TALKS[7]
to promote democracy and
Year President Ended because
change in the international
Most Supreme Court Justices
community, composed by were killed when M-19
more than 100 members: 1982–1985 Belisario Betancur
commandos and the Army
former democratic Heads of fought for control of the building
State and Government from 1986–1990 Virgilio Barco Vargas
FARC ambush killed 26 soldiers
around the world. in Caquetá
FARC attack on the Senate
1990–1992 César Gaviria Trujillo President. FARC kidnapping and
Popular culture killing of an ex-cabinet member.
1998–2002 Andrés Pastrana Arango FARC kidnapping of Senator
Gaviria is portrayed by the
Colombian actor Fabián Mendoza in the TV series Escobar, el Patrón del Mal.[10]
In TV series Tres Caínes is portrayed by the Colombian actor Mario Ruiz as the character of
Germán Giraldo.
In Narcos, a 2015 Netflix original series, Gaviria is portrayed by Mexican actor Raúl Méndez.

Sources
1. "Moviendo Las Fichas". Semana (in Spanish). 22 June 1987. ISSN 0124-
5473. OCLC 7475329. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
2. "Hace 25 años fue atentado contra avión de Avianca, ordenado por Pablo Escobar" (in
Spanish). Caracol. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
3. "Perfil César Gaviria Trujillo"(in Spanish). Quién es Quién. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
4. https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1993/01/PROLONGEAU/44929
5. Andrew F. Cooper, and Thomas Legler (2005), "A Tale of Two Mesas: The OAS Defense of
Democracy in Peru and Venezuela," Global Governance 11(4)
6. "Asesinada Liliana Gaviria, hermana del ex presidente César Gaviria Trujillo" (in Spanish).
Caracol. 27 April 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
7. "Why did the Colombia Peace Process Fail?" (PDF). The Tabula Rasa Institute. Archived
from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2006. [PDF file]
8. "Gaviria, César President of Colombia (1990-1994)". Club of Madrid. Archived from the
original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
9. Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote "Democracy that
Delivers". It is composed of more than 100 Members, all democratic former presidents and
prime ministers from around the world.
10. "Fabián Mendoza será 'César Gaviria' en Escobar, El Patrón del Mal". El Espectador (in
Spanish). 30 July 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2015.

Biography in Spanish by Fundación CIDOB

External links
Appearances on C-SPAN