Alfredo Vazquez Carrizosa (9 February 1909 – 19 December 2001) was a Colombian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, politician and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, Cundinamarca. He was the foreign minister of Colombia from 1970 to 1974. Carrizosa was the son of General Alfredo Vasquez Cobo, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

's candidate for President of the Republic in 1930. He did his secondary and higher education in Belgium and graduated as a lawyer at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

. He was linked during the decade from 1930 to the International Labour Organization, becoming the Colombian delegate during World War II, when its offices were relocated to Canada. On his return to Colombia, he was elected to the House of Representatives for Cundinamarca, but steered clear of the Conservative Party's internal divisions. He was uninvolved, therefore, in the coup d'état of 1953. From 1958, during the reign of the National Front, Carrizosa continued his diplomatic career as

Ambassador of Colombia to the United Kingdom An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

, Belgium, the United Nations and the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

, until he attained the post of foreign minister in 1970. After leaving the Foreign Ministry, Carrizosa devoted himself entirely to the cause of human rights, founding (and, from 1979, chairing) the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights. In 1991, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Colombia, representing the

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

movement Patriotic Union as its oldest constituent. He died in Bogotá on December 19, 2001. Noam Chomsky counts himself as among his admirers.

Personal life

Alfredo was born in Bogotá on 9 February 1909 to Alfredo Vázquez Cobo and Ana Carrizosa Tanco. He married Lucía Holguín Pardo on 17 June 1961 in Bogotá.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vazquez Carrizosa, Alfredo 1909 births 2001 deaths Politicians from Bogotá Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni 20th-century Colombian lawyers Colombian Conservative Party politicians Permanent Representatives of Colombia to the Organization of American States Ambassadors of Colombia to the United Kingdom Foreign ministers of Colombia Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Colombian human rights activists