Diego Betancur Álvarez (born 1949) is the current

ambassador 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 so ...

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He is also the son of former

president of Colombia The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...

Belisario Betancur Cuartas Belisario Betancur Cuartas (4 February 1923 – 7 December 2018) was a Colombian politician who served as the 26th President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986. He was a member of the Colombian Conservative Party. His presidency was noted for its at ...

Political positions

Diego Betancur was famous for being a member of the MOIR, a Maoist Left Wing party during the 1980s, even during his father's tenure as President of the Republic on behalf of the Conservative Party. Diego was a staunch supporter of the rights of a legal, unarmed left, to be allowed into the then de facto bipartisan system of Liberals and Conservatives. When the paramilitary from Magdalena Medio began their purge of left wing politicians, Diego Betancur was among the voices that warned against the mistake of how the military and the landowning elites were targeting lawful contradictors as military enemies.

Ambassadorship

On 25 October 2007, the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

reopened the Embassy of Colombia in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, which had been closed since 2002, to fulfil this office, the Government appointed Betancur as Ambassador of Colombia to Australia concurrently accredited as non-resident to

; previously, the Ambassador of Colombia to Japan,

Patricia Eugenia Cárdenas Santa María Patricia Eugenia Cárdenas Santa María (born 1958) is a Colombian diplomat, businesswoman and engineer. She is the current Ambassador of Colombia in México. She served as Ambassador of Colombia to Brazil, as Ambassador of Colombia to Japan and ...

, served as non-resident ambassador to both Australia and New Zealand. On 14 March 2008 Betancur was sworn in by 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, ...

Fernando Araújo Perdomo Fernando Araújo Perdomo (born 27 June 1955) is a Colombian politician. He was the Minister of Development during the administration of Andrés Pastrana. He resigned from this post after the Chambacú land deal scandal. He was later kidnapped b ...

in a ceremony at the Palace of San Carlos in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

. Betancur started his mission with the re-aperture of the Embassy the following April, and presented his

Letters of Credence A letter of credence (, ) 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 another, asking them to give ...

to the Administrator of the Commonwealth of Australia,

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Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

, on 30 April 2008 in a ceremony of protocol at

Government House, Canberra Government House, colloquially known as Yarralumla, is the official residence of the governor-general of Australia. It is located in the suburb of Yarralumla in the Australian capital city of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The ...

, and to

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

Sir Anand Satyanand Sir Anand Satyanand (born 22 July 1944) is a New Zealand lawyer, judge, and ombudsman who served as the 19th governor-general of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011. Satyanand was chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for two 2-year terms, ending in ...

Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the Advice ...

, on 17 February 2009 in a ceremony of protocol at Government House Vogel.

Personal life

Born in 1949, he is the second child and only son of

and Rosa Helena Álvarez Yepes; his two other sisters are Beatriz (1956) and María Clara (1960). He is married to María Emma Rubiano Rivadeneira.

References

1949 births Living people Bettencourt family Children of presidents of Colombia Colombian agronomists Ambassadors of Colombia to Australia Ambassadors of Colombia to New Zealand {{Colombia-politician-stub

Political positions

Ambassadorship

Personal life

See also

References