María Carolina Barco Isakson (born 1951) is a

Colombian-American Colombian Americans ( es, Colomboestadounidenses), are Americans who trace their ancestry to Colombia. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of full or partial Colombian descent or to someone who has immigrated to the United St ...

diplomat, who has served as

Ambassador of Colombia to the United States The ambassador of Colombia to the United States is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia to the United States of America, accredited as Dual accreditation, Concurrent Non-Resident Ambassador to the Islamic R ...

from 2006 to 2010, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia from 2002 to 2007. She has served as the Colombian ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

since October 2018.

Early years

Barco was born in Boston, Massachusetts, while her father,

Virgilio Barco Vargas Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990. Early life Barco was born in Cúcuta in the Nort ...

, was studying at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. In 1973 Barco received her BA in Sociology and Economics from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

in Massachusetts. During her time at Wellesley she spent a year studying abroad at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In 1975 she received a master's degree in city planning from the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Graduate School of Design. In 1984 she received an MBA at IE Business School in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. From 1990 to 1991 she was a visiting scholar at her father's alma mater, MIT.

Career

Barco was appointed Foreign Minister of Colombia by President

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in t ...

in August 2002 and remained in that post until July 2006, when she was appointed Ambassador to the United States, replacing former Colombian president

Andrés Pastrana Arango Andrés Pastrana Arango (born 17 August 1954) is a Colombian politician who was the List of presidents of Colombia, 30th President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002, following in the footsteps of his father, Misael Pastrana Borrero, who was presi ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Family

Carolina Barco Isakson is the daughter of

, a former Mayor, Senator, Ambassador,

President of Colombia The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...

and Director to the World Bank Board, and

Carolina Isakson Proctor Carolina Isakson Proctor (born Mary Caroline Isakson; January 6, 1930 – January 14, 2012) was an American artist and First Lady of Colombia from 1986 to 1990. She married Colombia's future president Virgilio Barco in 1950. During her husb ...

, the American-born former

First Lady of Colombia The First Lady of Colombia (First Lady of the Nation) is the title held by the hostess of the House of Nariño, usually the wife of the President of Colombia, president of Colombia, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the fi ...

. Carolina's brother,

Virgilio Barco Isakson Virgilio Barco Isakson (born 1965) is a Colombian people, Colombian economist and political scientist. Barco Isakson is currently Latin America Director at Acumen (organization), Acumen, a leading impact investing fund that focuses on tackling ...

, founded one of Colombia's largest gay civil rights NGO's in Colombia called

Colombia Diversa Colombia Diversa is an organization based in Bogotá that promotes and defends LGBT rights in Colombia. It was founded in 2004 by a group of activists who met in 2003 while advocating for a failed bill recognizing the rights of same-sex couples. Th ...

. Carolina Barco was married to Mauricio Botero Caicedo, with whom she had three daughters.

References

External links

The Washington Diplomat Newspaper - Ambassador profile
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070613094912/http://www.colombiaemb.org/opencms/opencms *http://www.colombiadiversa.org/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Barco, Carolina 1951 births Living people People from Boston Children of presidents of Colombia American people of Colombian descent American people of Swedish descent Naturalized citizens of Colombia Colombian people of American descent Colombian people of Swedish descent

Carolina Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...

Wellesley College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Foreign ministers of Colombia Ambassadors of Colombia to the United States Female foreign ministers Women government ministers of Colombia Colombian women ambassadors