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César Gaviria Trujillo
Colombia / 1994 - 2004
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Former Colombian President César Gaviria—known in Latin America as a conflict mediator, advocate of democracy in 1999, staunch supporter of regional integration and defender of human rights—was first elected OAS Secretary General in 1994. He was re-elected by the member-countries in 1999, and began his second term in September of that year.

Through his strategy for a “New Vision of the OAS,” César Gaviria has fostered profound institutional changes that have reinvigorated the inter-American agenda and prepared the Organization to meet the challenges the region faces today. Administrative reforms have made it possible for the OAS to expand its activities, despite the scarcity of resources, and to strengthen key programs. The adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, in 2001, established the region’s unequivocal commitment to democracy and human rights. The National Democratic Institute paid tribute to Secretary General Gaviria’s leadership and the Organization’s growing role in strengthening democratic values when it presented the OAS with the 2002 W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award.

During Gaviria’s tenure, the OAS has also intensified efforts to improve hemispheric security and combat terrorism, drugs and corruption. It has become a key player in the Summit of the Americas process, and now serves as its technical secretariat and institutional memory. The Organization has also advanced the concept of integral solidarity and has reformed its technical cooperation programs.

Gaviria has been instrumental in defusing numerous crises in the region, most recently the tensions in Venezuela. From November 2002 to May 2003, he undertook an unprecedented effort to facilitate talks between the Venezuelan government and representatives of the opposition. The negotiations formally ended with an agreement between the two sides that opens the door for the “peaceful, democratic, electoral and constitutional” outcome the international community had sought.

César Gaviria began his career at age 23, immediately after obtaining his degree in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, when he was elected councilman in his hometown of Pereira. Four years later, he became mayor. He was also professor of Principles of Economics and Public Finance at Universidad de los Andes during 1971 and also taught a seminar level course on Colombian Economics between 1972 and 1974 at the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira.

In 1974 he was elected to Colombia’s House of Representatives. He rose to the top position in the House in 1983. Between 1983 and 1986 Gaviria was also economic columnist for El Tiempo, his country’s leading newspaper, and director of La Tarde, a regional paper based in his hometown.

In 1986 Gaviria became co-chair of the Colombian Liberal Party, a position he held during the successful presidential campaign of the party’s candidate, Virgilio Barco.

Mr. Gaviria served in the Barco administration first as Minister of Finance and later as Minister of the Interior. He played a critical role in beginning peace negotiations with the leftist guerrilla group known as “M-19.”

In early 1989, he left the government to manage the presidential campaign of Senator Luis Carlos Galán. Following the brutal murder of Senator Galán by drug traffickers, the Liberal Party chose César Gaviria as its candidate. He was elected President of Colombia in May 1990.

During his four-year term (1990-94) he enacted policies to strengthen democracy, promote peace and reintegrate armed rebels into civilian life. He also carried out a process of constitutional and institutional change, focusing on strengthening the judiciary branch and increasing human rights protection. In 1991, through a plebiscite and elected constitutional assembly, Colombia drafted a new, more democratic constitution. President Gaviria also undertook economic reforms to modernize and enhance Colombia’s competitiveness in the world market. He presided over the signing of free trade agreements between the members of the “Group of Three” (Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela) and between Colombia and CARICOM, and initiated the revitalization of the Andean Pact.

Recent Awards:

W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, (2002)

National Democratic Institute (NDI) Democracy Award (2002)

The Washington Times International Courage in Leadership Award (2002)

Honorary Degrees:

Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law, from Northeastern University (2002)

Professor Honoris Causa from the Universidade Estácio de Sá, Rio de Janeiro (1991)

Professor Honoris Causa from Universidad Libre Colombia (1990)

Professor Honoris Causa from University of Miami

Professor Honoris Causa from Universidad ICESI, Colombia

Main Active Memberships:

Inter-American Dialogue

Club de Madrid

La Conférence de Montréal

Publications:

“El Sistema Interamericano para la Protección de y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos”, in El Futuro del Sistema Inter.-Americano de Protección de los Derechos Humanos, Juan Méndez y Francisco Cox, Ed., 2001.

"La integración regional en un mundo globalizado: liderazgos, desafíos y capacidad de gestión", in Memorias del IV Congreso Internacional del CLAD, CLAD, 2000. 

Toward the New Millennium: The road traveled 1994-1999, Organization of American States, 1999. 

“Toward a New Vision of the Inter-American Human Rights System.” published in Boletim da Sociedade Brasileira de Dereito Internacional N. 113/118, 1998. Also published in Journal of Latin American Affairs 3.1, 1995. 

A New Vision of the OAS, Organization of American States, 1995. 

Plan de Desarrollo Económico y Social 1990 – 1994, Presidencia de la República de Colombia, 1994. 

Reformas Económicas 1990 – 1994, Presidencia de la República de Colombia, 1994. 

Las Bases de la Nueva Colombia: El Revolcón Institucional 1990 –1994, Presidencia de la República de Colombia, 1994. 

La Revolución Pacífica, Presidencia de la República de Colombia, 1990. 

Reflexiones para una nueva Constitución, Presidencia de la República de Colombia, 1990. 

La Deuda Latinoamericana, Cámara de Representantes de Colombia, 1982.

 


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