Gabriel Camargo Salamanca (23 May 1942 – 21 November 2022) was a Colombian businessman and sports director who worked in politics as a departmental deputy, municipal councilor and senator of the republic. At the start of the 2020s he was the largest shareholder of

Deportes Tolima Club Deportes Tolima S.A., commonly known as Deportes Tolima, or simply as Tolima, is a Colombian professional football club based in Ibagué, Tolima Department that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. Founded in 1954, the club has wo ...

Life

Salamanca was born in

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá department an ...

, Boyacá, Colombia, and he married Leonor Serrano (born 1 May 1936), a marriage from which three children were born (Gabriel, Catherine and Caesar Alexander). Gabriel Camargo was known through the company Incubacol and for more than 20 years as a leader of the football professional Colombian. Salamanca died of cancer 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 ...

on 21 November 2022, at the age of 80.

Political life

Among the public positions he has held are: senator of the Republic of Colombia, deputy of the Departmental Assembly of Cundinamarca between 1994 and 1998, and councilor of Fusagasuga. For the parliamentary elections of 1998, he joined the Partido Somos Colombia, with which he campaigned to obtain the position of senator of the Republic for the period 1998 to 2002, winning the elections with 39,146 votes where the majority of votes in his favor were obtained in Cundinamarca, Tolima and Boyacá, serving in the Third Commission of the Senate, this as Holder of the Seat.

Works in Colombian sports

Salamanca started in the sport, in his youth, when he practiced athletics, becoming national runner-up in the 100 m. At the University of

he played baseball and soccer as a goalkeeper. Later he was the director of the Athletics League of Boyacá, before having contacts with the Junior of

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

through the then president of that club, Fuad Char. However, it was the engineer Luis Ernesto Camacho, in the company of Héctor Rivera, who spoke with Gabriel Camargo and Eduardo Robayo to offer them Deportes Tolima. Camargo and Robayo studied the offer and were involved in Colombian soccer since the end of the 1970s.

Maximum shareholder of
Deportes Tolima Club Deportes Tolima S.A., commonly known as Deportes Tolima, or simply as Tolima, is a Colombian professional football club based in Ibagué, Tolima Department that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. Founded in 1954, the club has wo ...

Since that golden age of Kokoriko Tolima, the businessman and leader has been linked to the red and gold team. However, after the resounding triumphs between

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, he left and withdrew his financial support from the institution until the mid-nineties when he returned to stay and manage the destinies of the "Pijao" cast, even in that stormy

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, when the tolimense team descended and participated in the Tournament of the First B in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. His friendship with Alfonso Trujillo Ortiz, a businessman from Girardot who lived in Ibagué 55 years ago, led him to offer him the presidency of the club, while he dedicated himself to different trades. His resume and the affection of people from various regions, led Gabriel Camargo Salamanca to reach the Senate of the Republic for two terms, from where he projected his political career. Among his administrative achievements is the achievement of resources for the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium, the meeting of sponsors for the team and the support of different politicians in the region. Gabriel Camargo Salamanca, as owner of the Tolima institution, led

to four out of five subtitles and habitual participations in

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

and

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

, added to this the most important achievements of the red wine and gold institution in this case its first, second and third title of the national rent in the Torneo Completion 2003 the Apertura Tournament 2018, the Apertura Tournament 2021, in addition to this the title of the

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia ( en, Colombia Cup, link=yes); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs of DIMAYOR and is the nation's domestic cup competition, equiva ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and the Superliga de Colombia of

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Personal distinctions

Distinction Cacique Calarcá of the Government of Tolima, Adoptive Son of

Ibagué Ibagué () (referred to as San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas during the Spanish period) is the capital of Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city is located in the center of the country, ...

, Adoptive Son of Tolima, declared by the Departmental Assembly, on 19 April 2022. Order of Tolima (1st Class) and Distinction of the Federation National Poultry Farmers.

References