Iván Duque Márquez

Iván Duque Marquez
33rd President of Colombia
Assumed office
7 August 2018
Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez
Preceded by Juan Manuel Santos Calderón
Senator of Colombia
In office
July 20, 2014 – April 10, 2018
Personal details
Born (1976-08-01) 1 August 1976
Bogotá, Colombia
Political party Democratic Center
Spouse(s) María Juliana Ruiz Sandoval
Alma mater Sergio Arboleda University
American University
Georgetown University
Website Official website

Iván Duque Márquez (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈβan ˈdu.ke ˈmaɾkes]; born August 1, 1976) is a Colombian politician, banker and lawyer who is the current President of Colombia, in office since 7 August 2018.

Formerly, he served as a senator. He was the presidential candidate for the Democratic Centre Party for the election in 2018.[1]

Life and career

Duque's father, Iván Duque Escobar

Duque was born in Bogotá, the son of Juliana Márquez Tono (political scientist) and Iván Duque Escobar (1937–2016), who served as auditor in the United Nations, governor of Antioquia, Minister of Mines and Energy, president of several companies, unions and public and private institutions, as well as the head of the National Registry of Civil Status during the Government of Andrés Pastrana. Duque’s siblings are Andrés and María Paula, with whom he has a close relationship.[2]

Duque attended Colegio Rochester and graduated from Sergio Arboleda University in Bogotá in 2000 with a degree in law.[3] He holds an LLM in International Economic Law from American University and a Master's in Public Policy Management from Georgetown University, Washington D.C.. He began his professional career in 1999 as a consultant in the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and later served as an advisor at the Colombian Ministry of Finance and Public Credit during the government of Andrés Pastrana (1998 - 2002).

Subsequently, he worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) between 2001 and 2013. There he served as Senior Adviser to the Executive Board for Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, Advisor to the Presidency, and chief of the Division of Culture, Solidarity, and Creativity.

Duque also served a period as international advisor of former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Between 2010 and 2011, he was a consultant at the United Nations (UN) in the Research Panel appointed by the Secretary-General for the Incident of the Gaza Flotilla that occurred on May 31st, 2010, between Israel and Turkey, known as Mavi Marmara.

Political background

Duque returned to Colombia to become a candidate for the Senate in the legislative elections of 2014, for the Partido Centro Democrático (Democratic Center Party) led by right wing former president Uribe.

During his time as a senator, he was the author of four laws:

  • Law 1822 of January 4, 2017,[4] increasing the maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks, so mothers could spend more time with their newborn children, a benefit that was also extended to adoptive mothers.
  • Law 1831 of May 2, 2017,[5] for the availability of defibrillators in public facilities and places of high public influx, in order to save lives, since heart attacks are the leading cause of death in Colombia.
  • Law 1809 of September 29, 2016,[6] for the use of advanced severance payments for educational insurance, so that more families can send their children to the university.
  • Law 1834 of May 23, 2017,[7] the "Orange Law" for the promotion, development and protection of the creative and cultural industries.

President of Colombia

Duque shakes hands with US President Donald Trump in September 2018

Election

On 10 December 2017, Duque was appointed by his party as its candidate for President of Colombia. He won the nomination through a system of surveys conducted by the party, with a 29.47% favorability compared to the other two candidates: Carlos Holmes Trujillo who obtained 20.15%, and Rafael Nieto with 20.06%. In January 2018, it was announced that the center-right coalition would participate in the Grand Primary for Colombia –an interparty consultation- with Duque as its candidate confronting Marta Lucía Ramírez (civil-center right movement) and Alejandro Ordóñez (right wing civil movement)[8]. On 11 March 2018, Duque won the primary with more than 4 million votes. Ramírez was second, with just over 1.5 million votes, and Ordóñez made third with 385,000 votes. During his speech, Duque thanked the support of Colombians at the polls and announced Marta Lucía Ramírez as his running mate in the elections.

On 27 May 2018 Duque earned the most votes in the first round of the presidential election with over 39% of the vote.[9] Duque was elected President of Colombia on 17 June 2018 after defeating Gustavo Petro 54% to 42% in the second round. He was sworn in on 7 August 2018 at the Bogota's Bolivar Square.[10]

Published books

Iván Duque is the author of the books Monetary Sins (2007), Machiavelli in Colombia (2010),[11] Orange Effect (2015),[12] IndignAcción (IndignAction) (2017)[13] and is co-author of the book The Orange Economy: An Infinite Opportunity (2013).[14] On March 12, 2018, he released The Future is at the Political Center (El futuro está en el centro), a compilation of the answers to questions that have arisen from Colombians during the campaign.

Duque has also been an Op-Ed contributor to several newspapers: El Colombiano, from Medellín; Portafolio and El Tiempo from Casa Editorial El Tiempo in Bogotá; and El País in Spain.

Personal life

Duque is a devout Catholic. He is married to María Juliana Ruiz Sandoval, with whom he has three children: Luciana, Matías and Eloísa.

References

  1. ↑ Biografía de Iván Duque
  2. ↑ Este es Iván Duque, el candidato uribista a la presidencia 2018
  3. ↑ "Por primera vez, la Sergio Arboleda tiene presidente" (in Spanish). Semana. June 17, 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  4. ↑ Ley 1822 de 2017
  5. ↑ Ley 1831 de 2017
  6. ↑ Ley 1809 de 2016
  7. ↑ Ley 1834 de 2017
  8. ↑ "Iván Duque, el gran ganador de la jornada". Semana. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  9. ↑ Murphy, Helen. "Colombia president-elect vows to unite nation, alter peace deal". Reuters. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Iván Duque: Colombia's new president sworn into office". BBC News World Latin America. 2018-08-08.
  11. ↑ Maquiavelo en Colombia
  12. ↑ El efecto naranja
  13. ↑ IndignAcción
  14. ↑ Economía Naraja: una oportunidad infinita


Political offices
Preceded by
Juan Manuel Santos		 President of Colombia
2018–present		 Incumbent
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