Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990.

Early life

Barco was born in

Cúcuta Cúcuta (), officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, at the foot of the Eastern ...

in the

Norte de Santander Department North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) () is a departments of Colombia, department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. North Santan ...

of Colombia to Jorge Enrique Barco Maldonado and Julieta Vargas Durán. He 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, sewage ...

at the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, Ces ...

and at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

from which he graduated in 1943. He entered politics in 1943 when he became a city council member for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the town of

Durania Durania is a Colombian municipality and town located in the department of Norte de Santander. It is southwest of the departmental capital Cúcuta. Geography Durania is located in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes at altitudes ranging ...

. He was then elected to the lower house of Congress, but went into exile to the US in 1950 because of violence between liberals and conservatives. His daughter,

Carolina Barco Isakson María Carolina Barco Isakson (born 1951) is a Colombian-American diplomat, who has served as Ambassador of Colombia to the United States from 2006 to 2010, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia from 2002 to 2007. She has served as the Colom ...

(who would later become a Colombian politician herself) was born there. He obtained an M.A. in economics at MIT, where he took classes under

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winners

Robert Solow Robert Merton Solow, GCIH (; born August 23, 1924) is an American economist whose work on the theory of economic growth culminated in the exogenous growth model named after him. He is currently Emeritus Institute Professor of Economics at the Ma ...

and

Paul Samuelson Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize in 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he "h ...

in 1952. In 1954 he obtained a PhD in economics from Boston University. Barco is the grandson of Colombian General

Virgilio Barco M. The Barco oil concession was one of the main concessions in Colombia during the early development of its petroleum industry, the other being the De Mares concession. Oil was first found in the Norte de Santander department near the border with Ven ...

, who developed one of the country's largest oil concessions in 1905.

Political career

Barco returned to Colombia in 1954 to help negotiate the peace process which allowed the formation of the National Front between liberals and conservatives, which lasted two decades. He became a member of the

Senate 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 ...

, the upper house of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

in 1958, left to become the ambassador to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1961, and returned to Colombia in 1962. He served another term in the Senate until 1966, when he was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Colombia's capital,

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 ...

. He served in that position until 1969, when he became a director of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

until 1974. He then served as ambassador to the United States from 1977 until 1980.

Presidency

Barco was elected

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 ...

of Colombia with 58% of the vote in 1986. He supported

anti-poverty program Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics cl ...

s, renewed dialogue with leftist guerillas and fought drug traffickers. Though he was popular within the international community, he became less popular in Colombia because the drug traffickers became more violent after he started to move against them. His restrictive economic policies at first doomed the country. After two years of this, The Economic Openness program was initiated by his administration, which would open Colombian markets to the world and recharge the country's economy. He served one 4-year term.

Post-Presidency and death

When he left the Presidency in 1990, he served as ambassador to Britain again until 1992. Barco was diagnosed with cancer and he died on May 20, 1997, in

when he was 75. He is now buried in the

Central Cemetery of Bogotá Central Cemetery of Bogotá (Spanish: ) is one of the main and most famous cemeteries in Colombia located in Bogotá. Houses several national heroes, poets and former Colombian presidents. It was opened in 1836 and was declared National Monument i ...

Popular culture

* Barco is portrayed by the colombian actor Jorge Zúñiga as the character of Ramiro Vargas in TV series ''

Pablo Escobar, The Drug Lord ''Escobar: El Patrón del Mal'' (international title: ''Pablo Escobar, The Drug Lord''; also known as ''Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal'') is a 2012 Colombian telenovela produced and broadcast on Caracol TV, based on a true story about the life ...

''.

References

External links

Biography and tenure of Virgilio Barco by CIDOB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barco Vargas, Virgilio 1921 births 1997 deaths

Virgilio Virgilio, the Italian and Spanish form of Virgil may refer to: *Virgilio, Lombardy, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Borgo Virgilio in the Italian province of Mantua *Virgilio.it, a website People with the given name *Virgilio Barco Vargas (192 ...

People from Cúcuta Colombian people of Spanish descent National University of Colombia alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni Boston University alumni Colombian civil engineers Colombian Liberal Party politicians Colombian Ministers of Public Works Ambassadors of Colombia to the United Kingdom Ministers of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia Colombian Ministers of Agriculture Mayors of Bogotá Ambassadors of Colombia to the United States Presidents of Colombia Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Colombia Burials at Central Cemetery of Bogotá Colombian expatriates in the United States