Álvaro Leyva
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Álvaro Leyva Durán (born 26 August 1942) is a Colombian
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
,
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
,
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
,
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defender and
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. He has been the
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
for Colombia in the government of Gustavo Petro since 7 August 2022. On 7 February 2024, he was suspended from his ministerial position for three months over an investigation into potential violations of procurement laws. Leyva has held various portfolios under different presidencies, including Minister of Mines and Energy; he has also been a Deputy of the Assembly of Cundinamarca, Councilor of Bogotá, Member of the Chamber of Representatives and a Member of the
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 ...
in 1991. His experience in mediation, in the armed conflict with the Illegal Armed Groups in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, has led him to intervene in almost all presidential administrations as an
advisor An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs catego ...
in the search for
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
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since 1982.


Early life


Exiled in the United States

He attended primary school in Colombia, but had to complete his studies in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, when, on 13 June 1953,
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian National Army of Colombia, army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship f ...
overthrew
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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Laureano Gómez Laureano Eleuterio Gómez Castro (20 February 1889 – 13 July 1965) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 18th President of Colombia from 1950 to 1953. In November 1951 poor health led him to cede presidential pow ...
(for whom his father Jorge has worked as minister since 1950).


Peace mediator


Betancur government

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Betancur subsequently appointed him Minister of Mines and Energy in 1984 until 17 June 1985, when he was replaced by businessman Iván Duque Escobar (father of former president
Iván Duque Márquez Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bu ...
). This closeness to the guerrilla groups and the establishment of friendships with the guerrilla leaders began to generate many accusations and criticisms, and he later earned the nickname "The True Foreign Minister of the FARC", comparing him to the guerrilla Rodrigo Granda, who had that nickname. Despite his closeness to the guerrillas, his peace efforts were in vain due to little state commitment, even being the victim of an attack in February 1986.


Samper government

Despite the failure of the peace process in 1992, the Liberals won the elections again, this time with Ernesto Samper. Leyva collaborated with the FARC in dialogues with the demilitarization of the municipality of La Uribe, but, as a result of the outbreak of the illegal financing scandal of the Samper campaign known as Process 8,000, the negotiations went to the background and finally the attempts to peace. He also helped implement the Protocols to the
Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...
, which were signed in Colombia in 1995. Leyva achieved the release in 1997 of 60 soldiers who were kidnapped at the Las Delicias base in 1996, and again attempted a peace agreement with the FARC, which was reached in 1998 with President Andrés Pastrana. However, he was involved in another scandal in 1997, since he and the liberal leader Juan Manuel Santos were holding talks with paramilitaries and guerrillas for the resignation of President Samper, but it did not go down well with the press that Santos and Leyva were traveling in a helicopter from the emerald Víctor Carranza to visit Carlos Castaño.


Pastrana government

Leyva participated in the first rapprochement between the government of Andrés Pastrana and the FARC-EP in the Caguan talks, and in fact, it was thanks to the photograph of Pastrana with Tirofijo that came out days before the second round presidential elections (product of a meeting sponsored by Leyva), that Pastrana won the presidency over the favorite Horacio Serpa. However, prosecutor Alfonso Gómez Méndez accused him of illicit enrichment for money allegedly received from the Cali Cartel, and Leyva fled to Costa Rica, proving there that it was political persecution, for which he received political asylum there. country and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees granted him refugee status. He was captured in Madrid by Interpol on 23 October 2002 and was imprisoned for 2 months. Finally, after being acquitted by the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice, he returned to Colombia in 2006.


Uribe government

After the elections, Leyva continued to carry out peace efforts to reach a humanitarian agreement with the guerrillas during the second administration of President Uribe, with the knowledge and approval of the government. In those days, however, the controversy awoke again, when emails from the dejected guerrilla leader Raúl Reyes were discovered in which Leyva is mentioned, and which would date from his time as presidential candidate in 2006, and in which there was talk of an exchange of former candidate Ingrid Betancourt if Leyva won the elections, and he, on the other hand, would adapt his government program to the postulates of the Eighth Conference of the FARC.


Presidential candidacies

He was the promoter of the referendum in the Conservative Party, an initiative that other directors of that group (such as former President Pastrana) did not allow to prosper to stop his possible presidential aspiration in 1986, turning support towards Álvaro Gómez Hurtado. In the end, the liberal
Virgilio Barco 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 in the Nor ...
won the vote. In the Barco government, Leyva created the Commission for the Promotion of the Reconciliation Policy, with the help of former presidents
Alfonso López Michelsen Alfonso López Michelsen (30 June 1913 – 11 July 2007) was a Colombian politician and lawyer who served as the 24th President of Colombia from 1974 to 1978. He was nicknamed "El Pollo" (The Chicken), a popular Colombian idiom for people with ...
and Pastrana, whose objective was to allow rapprochement between the government and the FARC. At that time, he was accused of financially benefiting from the kidnappings carried out by the FARC and his closeness to the insurgency ended up stigmatizing him forever.


Presidential candidature (1990)

In 1989 he presented his presidential candidacy, endorsed by the controversial book War sells more, but his party turned its efforts to support the candidacy of businessman Rodrigo Lloreda, before the departure of Álvaro Gómez due to a difference with former president Pastrana. César Gaviria, close to the assassinated candidate Luis Carlos Galán (the favorite in the polls) ended up defeating Gómez in the elections, and Lloreda only came in fourth place.


Presidential candidature (2006)

In 2006, Leyva was a candidate for the presidency for the National Reconciliation Movement, the result of his dissidence from the Conservative Party, as a result of the conservatism decided to support the re-election of President
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 Department, Antioquia. H ...
During his presidential candidacy he said that he would be able to stop the war in six months and allocate the resources of the conflict to social programs, with a government program known as "Noah's Ark". However, in the absence of guarantees to continue with the campaign, Leyva withdrew his candidacy 20 days before the elections. Ultimately, Uribe was re-elected president.


Minister of Foreign Affairs (2022-2024)

On 25 June 2022, after Gustavo Petro's victory in the elections, this last announcement to Leyva as his new
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
, Leyva had served as a negotiator in numerous agreements with insurgent groups, including the
M-19 M19, M.19, or M-19 most commonly refers to: * May 19th Communist Organization (M19), an American far-left female-led terrorist group active during the 1970s–1980s * 19th of April Movement (M-19), a former Colombian guerrilla movement and political ...
. A group to which Gustavo Petro belonged, within the total peace policy. As foreign affairs minister, he has played an important role in protecting and embassying the so-called total peace policy of the Presidency of Gustavo Petro. As a promoter of total peace, he has represented the country in different areas of the world, he has been one of the fundamental supports of the president in the expansion of foreign affairs, migration policy, as well as the implementation of new bilateral agreements. In late January, 2024, Leyva was suspended from his duties as Minister for three months. The suspension was for potential violations of procurement laws related to the company awarded the contract to make Colombian passports.


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External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyva, Alvaro 1942 births Living people Politicians from Bogotá Pontificia Universidad Javeriana alumni Ministers of foreign affairs of Colombia Petro administration cabinet members Ministers of mines and energy of Colombia Colombian Conservative Party politicians 20th-century Colombian politicians 21st-century Colombian politicians