Claudia Turbay Quintero (born 27 June 1952) is a Colombian journalist and diplomat. She has served as Ambassador of Colombia to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, with

dual accreditation Dual accreditation is the practice in diplomacy of a country granting two separate responsibilities to a single diplomat. One prominent form of dual accreditation is for a diplomat to serve as the ambassador to two countries concurrently. For exampl ...

as Non-Resident Ambassador to

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

, Ambassador of Colombia to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

with dual accreditation as

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

of Colombia to the

Latin American Integration Association The Latin American Integration Association / Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración / Associação Latino-Americana de Integração (LAIA / ALADI) is an international and regional scope organization. It was created on 12 August 1980 by the ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, and had over 27 years of experience working with

Proexport ProColombia is a government agency of the Executive Branch of the Government of Colombia in charge of promoting Colombian non-traditional exports, international tourism International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisa ...

, holding various positions including Commercial Director in the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

offices, and Vice President, eventually being appointed President of the agency in 2002.

Career

She is a journalist from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

with a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Latin American and Caribbean Studies from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Proexport

Turbay started working with

, then called ''Proexpo'', in 1974 in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

offices as a clerk in the business library; from there she became and adjunct member in New York City and was later appointed Commercial Director of the

office. She returned to Colombia in 1994 and worked for Proexport Advisor to the General Manager, Deputy General Manager, Vice President and eventually President of Proexport in 2002.

Ambassadorship 2002-2008

On 24 October 2002, Turbay was sworn in as

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 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 ...

of the Republic of Colombia to the

Oriental Republic of Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

with

to the

(ALADI) by President

Álvaro Uribe Vélez Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

in a ceremony that took place in the

Palace of Nariño A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

. She presented her credentials the following month to

President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay ( es, Presidente del Uruguay), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. Their rights are determined in the Constitution of Urugua ...

Jorge Batlle Ibáñez Jorge Luis Batlle Ibáñez (; ''Batlle'' locally or ; 25 October 1927 – 24 October 2016) was a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, and a member of the Colorado Party. He served as the President of Uruguay from 2000 to 2005. Dr. Jorge Batlle ...

at the

Estévez Palace The Estévez Palace (Spanish: Palacio Estévez) is a building situated in Plaza Independencia, Montevideo, Uruguay, designed in a combination of Doric and Colonial styles by Manoel de Castel in 1873. It has served as the working place of the Pre ...

on 8 November, and to ALADI Secretary General Juan Francisco Rojas Penso on 24 November.

Ambassadorship 2010-present

Following the refused acceptance of two previous candidates, President

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade ...

submitted the candidacy of Turbay to the

Swiss Government The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...

for their approval and after receiving the ''bene placito'', Turbay was sworn in on 8 January 2009 by

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Jaime Bermúdez Merizalde Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and ...

of the Republic of Colombia to the

Swiss Confederation ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

with

to the

Principality of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

in a ceremony that took place at the Palace of San Carlos. After arriving at her

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Turbay presented her credentials to

Swiss President The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the Confederation or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is the head of Switzerland's seven-member Federal Council (Switzerland), Federal Council, the country's ...

Doris Leuthard Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2006 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she was elected as President of the Swiss ...

in a ceremony at the

Federal Palace of Switzerland The Federal Palace is a building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Federal Council (executive). It is the seat of the government of Switzerland and parliament of the country. The building is a listed symmetric ...

on 2 January 2010, and later that year to Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein in ceremony at

Vaduz Castle Vaduz Castle (German: ''Schloss Vaduz'') is the palace and official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein. The castle gave its name to the town of Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, which it overlooks from an adjacent hilltop. History The f ...

on 17 June. Ambassador of Colombia to Ghana and West Africa from August 2013 to present time.

Personal life

Born on 27 June 1952, she is the daughter of former President of Colombia

Julio César Turbay Ayala Julio César Turbay Ayala (18 June 1916 – 13 September 2005) was a Colombian lawyer and politician who served as the 25th President of Colombia from 1978 to 1982. He also held the positions of Foreign Minister and Ambassador to the United St ...

and his first wife and former First Lady of Colombia

Nydia Quintero Turbay Nydia Quintero Turbay (born 28 August 1932) is the ex-wife of the List of Presidents of Colombia, 25th President of Colombia, Julio César Turbay Ayala, and served as First Lady of Colombia from 1978 to 1982 when they were still married. She is ...

. She is of Lebanese and Basque descent through both her parents. The third out of four children, her other siblings are Julio César, a politician and former Comptroller General of Colombia, Diana Consuelo, a journalist who was killed during a rescue operation following her kidnapping, and María Victoria, a lawyer and Vice President of ''Fundación Solidaridad por Colombia'' a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in Bogotá. She married Jaime Granja Leudo with whom she had one daughter, Claudia Alexandra, but later divorced. From her second marriage she had two children Laura and Santiago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turbay Quintero, Claudia 1952 births Living people People from Bogotá Claudia Children of presidents of Colombia Colombian people of Lebanese descent Fordham University alumni New York University alumni Colombian journalists Colombian women journalists Ambassadors of Colombia to Uruguay Permanent Representatives of Colombia to the Latin American Integration Association Ambassadors of Colombia to Switzerland Ambassadors of Colombia to Liechtenstein