Fernando Araújo Perdomo (born 27 June 1955 in Cartagena, Bolivar) is a Colombian politician. He was the Minister of Development during the administration of Andrés Pastrana. He resigned from this post after the Chambacú land deal scandal. He was later kidnapped by the FARC-EP guerrillas and held for six years until he eventually escaped. Two months later after his liberation,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 ...

appointed him as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

Education

Araújo graduated from high school in the Colegio La Salle in the city of Cartagena. He then moved to Bogotá and studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

at the

Pontifical Xavierian University The Pontifical Xavierian University (in Spanish Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest, most traditional, and prestigious Colombian universities, directed by the Soc ...

Chambacú case

Araújo resigned after

Ignacio Gómez Ignacio Gómez (born c. 1962; also known as "Nacho") is a Colombian journalist known for his high-risk reporting on organized crime, corruption, and paramilitary groups. In 2000, he received the "Special Award for Human Rights Journalism Under Th ...

published in

El Espectador ''El Espectador'' (meaning "The Spectator") is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It changed from a daily to a weekly editio ...

the note " Chambacú, corral de empresarios", in which he was accused of participating in a corrupt land deal.

Kidnapping

While he was under investigation, Araújo was kidnapped on December 4, 2000 near his home in Cartagena by the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

and escaped more than six years later, on December 31, 2006 after a

Colombian National Army The National Army of Colombia ( es, Ejército Nacional de Colombia) is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, an ...

military operation in the

Montes de María The Montes de María is an isolated group of small mountains near the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Region. The Montes de María (also known as Serranía de San Jacinto) are the last part of the Serranía de San Jerónimo which exte ...

mountains in the southern regions of the Bolivar Department. Araújo spent several days in hiding without food or water until eventually finding help and then facing the press on January 5, 2007.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

On February 19, 2007, Araújo was appointed as new Minister of Foreign Affairs by President

, replacing María Consuelo Araújo (no relation to Fernando Araújo) who resigned due to her brother's involvement in the 2006–2007 Colombian para-political scandal. Araújo resigned from the post on July 16, 2008.

Personal life

Araújo is one of the eight children of Alberto Araújo Merlano and Judith Perdomo. Araújo's brothers and sisters are Alberto Ignacio, Liana, Gerardo, Judith Elvira, Carolina, Juan Carlos and Rodrigo.

First marriage

Araújo had four sons from his first marriage; Manuel Santiago, Sergio Alejandro, Fernando Nicolás and Luis Ernesto.Un ejemplo de tenacidad
''

El Pais EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...

'', February 28, 2007. Accessed 28 February 2007.

Second marriage

Araújo's second marriage was with Mónica Yamhure Gossaín. They had been married for only seven months and were planning to have a child when he was kidnapped on December 4, 2000 by the FARC guerrillas. Coincidentally it was on Yamhure's birthday. She left him while he was in captivity and remarried. Araújo found out about this upon his arrival to Cartagena on January 5, 2007, a few hours after being evacuated from the

jungle mountains in southern Bolivar. He was surprised by her absence after his release and asked his brother about her whereabouts, who told him of her leaving."¿Y Mónica?", Ex ministro plagiado relata cautiverio
''

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

'', February 28, 2007. Accessed 28 February 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Araujo Perdomo, Fernando 1955 births People from Cartagena, Colombia Foreign ministers of Colombia Colombian civil engineers Kidnapped Colombian people Living people Colombian Conservative Party politicians Pontifical Xavierian University alumni