- María Emma Mejía Vélez
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María Emma Mejía Vélez Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations Incumbent Assumed office
11 March 2011Preceded by Néstor Kirchner Minister of Foreign Affairs In office
July 1996 – 25 March 1998President Ernesto Samper Pizano Preceded by Rodrigo Pardo García-Peña Succeeded by Camilo Reyes Rodríguez Colombia Ambassador to Spain In office
1993–1995President César Gaviria Trujillo Preceded by Ernesto Samper Pizano Succeeded by Humberto de la Calle Lombana Personal details Born 27 September 1953
Medellín, Antioquia, ColombiaNationality Colombian Political party Alternative Democratic Pole Other political
affiliationsColombian Liberal Party Spouse(s) Lucas Caballero Reyes (1980-1995) Children Pedro Lucas Caballero Mejía Residence Bogotá, DC, Colombia Alma mater Pontifical Bolivarian University
University of ValleProfession Journalist This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Mejía and the second or maternal family name is Vélez.María Emma Mejía Vélez (born 27 September 1953) is a Colombian journalist and politician who has served as Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Education, and Ambassador to Spain. She currently works as Executive President of the Pies Descalzos Foundation, a charity founded by the Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira and collaborates as a journalist in the El Radar a Colombian investigative television news program that airs in Caracol TV.
Vélez succeeded Néstor Kirchner of Argentina following his death to become the 2nd Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations.
Contents
Background
María Emma Mejía Vélez was born to Luis Mejía Arango and Sofía Vélez Pérez on 27 September 1953 in Medellín, Antioquia.[1]
After graduating from the Gimnasio Los Pinares high school in Medellín, on November 1971, she worked for a short time as a fashion model.[2] She went on to study Social communication at the Pontifical Bolivarian University, from where she did not graduate, to go on sabbatical to London where she held various jobs including working for the Colombian Consulate and the BBC.[1] While at London she also studied cinematography and television which lead her to direct two films by the age of 23.[1]
On her return to Colombia Fernando Gómez Agudelo, a pioneer of the Colombian television industry, named her assistant to the writer and director Bernardo Romero Pereiro.
Work in politics
FOCINE
María Emma entered politics thanks to her work as a film director, when President Belisario Betancur named her Director of the Cinematographic Fomenting Company (FOCINE) making this her first public post. Her work as Director of FOCINE was seen as successful for achieving greater State support for the Film Industry of Colombia, but at the same time her success was criticized for only benefiting a few group of film producers.
Presidential Advisory Council
After her work in FOCINE she became attracted to the ideas of Luis Carlos Galán, and it was his assassination which drove her to become more politically active, this time working with the presidential electoral campaign of César Gaviria Trujillo as Secretary General of the campaign. After the election, Gaviria Trujillo named her as head of the Presidential Security Advisory Council on Medellín.
As head of this advisory council she was faced with a barrage of existing and growing problems that included the violent rule of Pablo Escobar that had transformed Medellín into a battle field of car bombs explosions, drug trade, and shanty towns.
References
- ^ a b c Sabogal R, Cesar A (18 May 1998), "María Emma Mejía", El Tiempo, http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-767212, retrieved 8 May 2009
- ^ Revista Jet-Set (Semana) (125), 4 July 2007, http://www.colarte.com/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=16386, retrieved 9 May 2009
Categories:- 1953 births
- Living people
- Ambassadors of Colombia to Spain
- Colombian female models
- Colombian film directors
- Colombian Liberal Party politicians
- Colombian Ministers of Foreign Affairs
- Colombian Ministers of National Education
- Colombian television journalists
- Colombian women in politics
- Female foreign ministers
- People from Medellín (city)
- Secretaries General of UNASUR
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