José Manuel Restrepo Abondano (born 1969) is a Colombian academic, economist, journalist and politician who served as the Minister of Finance and Public Credit from 3 May 2021 to 7 August 2022, he also served as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia since 7 August 2018 until 3 May 2021.

Education

José Manuel Restrepo Abondano was born in 1969 and grew up 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 ...

, Colombia. He attended the all boys Campestre Gymnasium school, an all-male conservative school in the Orquideas district of Bogotá. He graduated from the

Del Rosario University Universidad del Rosario (officially in es, Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario) is a Colombian university founded on Roman Catholic principles, in 1653 by Fray Cristobal de Torres. Located in Bogotá, due to its important place in Col ...

in 1994 and completed a master's degree in economics from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1998. He completed a Postgraduate Degree in Finance and Executive Management from the Rosario University in 2004 and a PhD in Higher Education Management from the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

in 2015.

Professional career

Restrepo started his career working as an advisor to the Economic Commission (committee) of the

Congress of the Republic of Colombia The Congress of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Congreso de la República de Colombia) is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature. The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Re ...

. He continued his career in the civil service, becoming Budget and Financial Planning Director of Fonade, the National Fund for Development Projects in Colombia. From 2009 to 2014, Restrepo was the rector of Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración (CESA). He also served as the rector of the Business Foundation of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá. On 22nSeptember 2014, he was elected rector of his alma mater

. For ten years he wrote a weekly column for the Bogotá-based newspaper

El Nuevo Siglo ''El Nuevo Siglo'' ( en, The New Century) is a regional daily newspaper based in Bogotá, Colombia. History and profile It was founded in 1925 with the name ''El Siglo'' by Laureano Gómez Castro and José de la Vega, but its staunch opposition ...

and in 2013 became a weekly columnist for Colombia's oldest newspaper

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 ...

. His last column was published on 21 July, one week after the announcement of his ministerial appointment.

Political career

In an interview in May 2018 Restrepo talked about becoming politically engaged at university stating that, along with a group of fellow students, he launched a civic movement called "Political Civic Movement, New People". The students stood for local elections in seven districts of Bogotá, three successfully being elected. He was one of the successful students, being elected to the district council of

Chapinero Chapinero is the 2nd locality of Bogotá, capital of Colombia. It is located in the north of the city and is one of the more affluent districts of the city. This district is mostly inhabited by upper class residents. The boundaries are Calle 39 ...

, the second district of Bogotá. On 14 July 2018, President-elect Duque announced on Twitter that he had appointed Restrepo to his government as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. President Duque described Restrepo as "one of the most illustrious Colombians of our generation" and "who will make history in office". Restrepo formally took office on 7 August 2018 following President Duque's inauguration.

References

External links

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abondano, José Manuel Restrepo 1969 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Del Rosario University alumni Government ministers of Colombia Ministers of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia Ministers of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia Alumni of the University of Bath Academic staff of Del Rosario University 20th-century Colombian economists Colombian journalists Male journalists Colombian politicians 21st-century Colombian economists Restrepo family