Ángela María Robledo Gómez (born 7 September 1953) is a Colombian psychologist and

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

politician. Currently a member of the Chamber of Representatives, Robledo is a former

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of psychology at

Pontifical Xavierian University The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (English: Xavierian Pontifical University) is a private university in Colombia founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional Colombian universities, directed by the Society of Jesus, with its ...

. A member of the centre-left

Green Alliance Green Alliance may refer to: *Green Alliance (think tank), a British think tank *Green Alliance (Colombia), a political party *Green Alliance (Ireland), former name of the Green Party in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland *Green Alliance ( ...

from 2010 to 2018, Robledo joined the socialist Colombia Humana party to serve as the vice presidential running mate of

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who is the 34th and current president of Colombia since 2022. Upon inauguration, he became the Pink tide, first left-wing president in the History of Colombia, recen ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. Since then, Robledo has broken with Petro and returned to the Green Alliance. She is considered a likely candidate in the 2022 presidential election. Robledo is known for her

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

politics and work to end gender violence.

Early life and career

Robledo grew up in

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...

, a city in the

Caldas Department Caldas () is a departments of Colombia, department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It is part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 998,255, and its area is 7, ...

. Robledo cites her mother as the first person to introduce her to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. Robledo has stated that her family were not wealthy, but made enough to pay for her and her siblings' education. Robledo studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at the

from 1971 to 1975, and would later return to college to attain a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in social policy from 2004 to 2007. Robledo has served as a professor and researcher at both the Pontifical Xavierian University as well as

Del Rosario University The Universidad del Rosario, officially Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, is a Colombian private university founded on Roman Catholic principles, by Friar, Fray Cristobal de Torres in 1653. Located in Bogotá, due to its important pla ...

. In 2004, she became Academic Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at the

, and would later serve as president of the Colombian Association of Psychology Faculties. While completing her studies, Robledo would meet future

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

Antanas Mockus Aurelijus Rūtenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas (; born 25 March 1952) is a Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician. He has a master's degree in philosophy from the National University of Colombia, and a Honoris Causa PhD from the Un ...

. Robledo would develop a close professional relationship with Mockus, regularly speaking with him about the need to address women's issues. As

Mayor of Bogota 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 as ...

, Mockus would make Robledo director of the Administrative Department of Social Welfare of the District (DABS), a position she served in from 2001 to 2003. During this time, Robledo advocated for

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

policies, helping advance the Equal Opportunities Plan for Gender Equality in the Capital District for 2004 to 2016 in cooperation with Bogota City Council member Carlos Baena.

Member of the Chamber of Representatives

In 2010, she ran for 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 ...

as a member of the centre-left

with the help of Mockus. She received 158,415 votes and was elected to the body, and in 2014 would be reelected. Robledo was a member of the Seventh and Integral Commission for Gender Equality. Additionally, she founded the chamber's Peace Commission with

Alternative Democratic Pole The Alternative Democratic Pole ( Spanish: ''Polo Democrático Alternativo'' or PDA) is a left-wing, democratic socialist and camilist political party in Colombia, active from 2005 to the present. In 2022 it was successful at the polls and fo ...

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

Iván Cepeda. In 2014, Robredo would write and advocate for Law 1719 along, a proposal to modify the Penal Code to guarantee access to justice for victims of sexual violence, especially

sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...

during the

armed conflict War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. Robledo is an advocate of abortion rights and participated in a march to end violence against

trans women A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

References

Living people 1953 births Colombian women psychologists Colombian psychologists Pontificia Universidad Javeriana alumni Academic staff of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Colombian women's rights activists Colombian women activists Colombian socialists Colombian feminists People from Manizales 21st-century Colombian politicians 21st-century Colombian women politicians {{Colombia-politician-stub