Luis Alfredo Ramos Botero (born April 19, 1948) is a Colombian politician. Most recently, he was the Governor of the

Department of Antioquia ) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_ma ...

from 2008 to 2011. A lawyer and a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician, Ramos has served as Councillor and Mayor of

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

, Deputy to the Antioquia Departmental Assembly,

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

to the

Congress 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 ...

, and

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

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

among other political posts. In August 2013 Luis Alfredo Ramos was imprisoned under investigation of the supreme court of Colombia, accused for criminal nexus with paramilitary groups in Antioquia but was later released in November 2016.

Early years

Ramos was born in the municipality and town of

Sonsón Sonsón is a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Sonsón is located in Eastern Antioquia. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sonsón–Rionegro. Sonsón celebrates "Las Fiestas Del Maíz"- ('Festival o ...

in the

Department of Antioquia ) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_ma ...

on April 19, 1948. Ramos studied law at the ''

Universidad de Medellín The Universidad de Medellín (UdeMedellín or UdeM) is a private university in Medellín, Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicara ...

'' and specialized in International Business from

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 ...

in the United States.

Political career

In 1972 Ramos is appointed head of the Conservative party post that he held for four years until 1976, he was also elected deputy of the

Department Assembly of Antioquia Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

for the period of 1974 and 1976. In 1976 was appointed General Controller of Antioquia serving until 1978 when he was appointed Secretary of Finance of the City of

until 1980.

Congressman

Between 1982 and 1990 served as congressman in the

Chamber of Representatives of Colombia The Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: ''Cámara de Representantes'') is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia. It has 172 members elected to four-year terms. Electoral system According to the Colombian Constitution, the Chamber of Rep ...

. In 1990 and 1991 was

Senator of Colombia The Senate of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Senado de la República de Colombia) is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the House of Representatives. The Senate has 108 members elected for concurrent (non-r ...

but with the dissolution of Congress by President

César Gaviria César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National Di ...

and the introduction of a

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

for a new

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

Ramos decided not to run again.

Mayor of Medellín

In 1992 Ramos was elected

Mayor of Medellín This is a list of mayors of Medellín, Colombia. Ordinary mayors of Villa de la Candelaria Until 1863, the administrator of Medellin was known as the Ordinary Mayor of Villa de la Candelaria de Medellín. * José Zapata y Múnera * Tomás Ibarr ...

for the period of 1992–1994. Ramos is dubbed the best Mayor in Colombia.

Minister of Foreign Trade

In 1996 during the Presidency of

Ernesto Samper Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) is a Colombian politician. Samper is a member of the influential Samper family. He served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. From 2014 to 2017 he served as ...

, Ramos was appointed

Minister of Foreign Trade The Ministry of Foreign Trade (russian: Министерство внешней торговли СССР; Minvneshtorg) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. The foreign trade of the USSR was a government monopoly and was conducted by th ...

, but due to the

Proceso 8000 8,000 Process (from the es, Proceso 8.000) is the unofficial name of the legal investigation for the events surrounding accusations about the Colombian Liberal Party candidate Ernesto Samper's 1994 campaign for President of Colombia being parti ...

scandal in which it was made public that drug money belonging to the

Cali Cartel The Cali Cartel ( es, Cartel de Cali) was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca. Its founders were the brothers Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela. They broke away fr ...

financed the presidential campaign of Ernesto Samper, the Conservative party cut all ties with the Liberal administration of Samper and Ramos renounced.

Ambassador to the Organization of American States

After renouncing to his post as minister in the Samper administration, Ramos joined the presidential campaign of Conservative

Andrés Pastrana Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

for the presidential elections of 1998. Pastrana was elected president and Ramos was appointed Ambassador of Colombia to the

(OAS) until 2001.

Senator of Colombia 2002-2006

In 2001 Ramos returned to Colombia and postulated himself as candidate for the Senate of Colombia in representation of the Team Colombia political movement. He was elected in the legislative elections of 2002 with more than 230,000 votes. In his inauguration as senator on July 20, 2002, Ramos was elected also

President of the Congress of Colombia The president of the congress of Colombia ( es, Presidente del Congreso de la República de Colombia) is the leader of the Congress of the Republic of Colombia. The Presidency of Congress is assumed by the person elected as President of the Sena ...

and the senate. As president of Congress he also inaugurated

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 ...

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 ...

. For the legislative elections of 2006 Ramos decided to join political forces with the

Alternative of Social Advancement Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

(ALAS) movement headed by

Álvaro Araújo Castro Álvaro Araújo Castro (born 7 November 1967) is a Colombian economist and former actor and Senator of Colombia. A Liberal politician, and leader of the ALAS-Team Colombia political movement, he was arrested and jailed in 2007 for participating ...

and created the ''Alas Equipo Colombia'' political party. The new political party supported the reelection of

and most of his policies in congress. Ramos term as senator ended on July 19, 2006. The Alas Equipo Colombia political party crumbled due to the imprisonment of Araujo and other members, involved in the

Parapolitica scandal The Colombian parapolitics scandal or "parapolítica" in Spanish (a combination of the words '' paramilitar'' and '' política'') refers to the 2006–present Colombian congressional scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians hav ...

in which politicians colluded with paramilitary groups to coerced voters and opposition candidates to gain political advantage.

Governor of Antioquia

Ramos decided to postulate his name for Governor of the

Antioquia Department ) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_ma ...

in the regional elections of 2007 representing the ''Alas Equipo Colombia'' political party. Ramos was elected Governor of the Department of Antioquia on October 28, 2007, obtaining of 99.04% of the voting sites scrutinized 836,526 votes equivalent to 51.73% of the total votes (1,617,065 total votes). Ramos defeated candidate Eugenio Prieto Soto of the ''del Movimiento Una Antioquia Nueva'', who obtained 579,020 votes. Ramos will be inaugurated as governor on January 1, 2008, for a period of 3 years until December 31, 2011. On August 28, 2013, the Supreme Court of Justice requested the arrest of former governor for alleged ties with paramilitary forces. The accusation is based on free testimony given by former paramilitary commanders Freddy Rendón Herrera, aka ‘El Alemán’ and Juan Carlos Sierra, aka ‘El Tuso’. On 2015 Freddy Rendón Herrera and Juan Carlos Sierra retracted from the testimony and accepted a plea bargain from Fiscalia General de la Nacion for False Testimony.

References

External links

Votebien.com: Luis Alfredo Ramos, 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Luis Alfredo 1948 births Living people People from Antioquia Department 20th-century Colombian lawyers Mayors of Medellín Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia Presidents of the Senate of Colombia Universidad de Medellín alumni Harvard University alumni Permanent Representatives of Colombia to the Organization of American States Team Colombia politicians Colombian Conservative Party politicians Ministers of Foreign Trade of Colombia