José Mauricio Rodríguez Múnera (born 5 March 1958) was

Ambassador of Colombia to the United Kingdom 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 ...

. He also served concurrently as

Non-Resident Ambassador 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 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He completed secondary education at

Colegio San Carlos Colegio San Carlos is an all-male, private, bilingual (English and Spanish) school in Bogotá, Colombia. The school has been recognized as one of the sources of many national leaders. The school works under the auspice of the local Roman Catholi ...

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 Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He is the founder and former director of '' Portafolio'', Colombia’s most prominent economic and finance newspaper, and has been a journalist for

Caracol Radio Caracol Radio (''Cadena Radial Colombiana'', "Colombian Radio Network") is one of the main radio networks in Colombia. Founded in Medellín in 1948 when ''La Voz de Antioquia'' station acquired the 50% of ''Emisoras Nuevo Mundo'', based in Bogotá ...

, '' El Tiempo'' and '' El Espectador'', among others. He has also worked as Dean of the Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración, his '' alma mater'' from 2007 to 2009, and was with

Dow Chemical The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

from 1981 to 1993, where he occupied several directive positions in Colombia, Venezuela, the United States, Switzerland and Italy.

Ambassadorship

On 15 August 2010,

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 ful ...

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 ...

designated Rodríguez to succeed Noemí Sanín Posada as

. On October 5, in an official ceremony at 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 ...

, Rodríguez was sworn in by President Uribe as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia to the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

concurrently accredited as Non-Resident Ambassador to the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. Rodríguez arrived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on October 10, officially taking his post as

Head of Mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permane ...

and settling into his official residence, but officially presented his

Letters of Credence A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...

to Her Majesty Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in an official ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 11 February 2011, and later that month travelled to Ireland to present his Letters of Credence to Mary McAleese,

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

, in an official ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin on 17 February.

Awards

In January 2013, Rodríguez was awarded the

Grassroot Diplomat Grassroot Diplomat is a global non-profit, non-political, diplomatic consultancy established in 2013. The consultancy specialises in digital diplomacy and public diplomacy working with foreign governments and citizen diplomats to help build positi ...

Initiative Award under the Policy Driver category for his vocal participation for the prohibition on narcotic drugs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez Munera, Mauricio 1958 births Living people People from Bogotá Colombian journalists Male journalists Colombian magazine editors Ambassadors of Colombia to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Colombia to Ireland