Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno (born 22 December 1972) is a Colombian diplomat, politician and economist. He is the former Ambassador of Colombia to the United States and former

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

. Pinzon comes from a military family, his father was a Colonel in the Colombian Army.

Minister of Defence

Pinzón received honourable mention for his outstanding academic performance as BSC in economics. He holds a Master's of Science in economics from the

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 ...

, where in addition, he was awarded a scholarship for his Master's in Public Policy at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Pinzón also completed his advanced studies in international relations and strategic studies at The Johns Hopkins University, and in science and technology policy at Harvard University. As part of his public service, Pinzón served as the Deputy Minister of Defence. In 2010, President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón appointed him as Presidential Chief of Staff. His public and private tenure also includes positions such as, Senior Advisor to the executive director at the World Bank, Vice President of the Colombian Banking Association, Assistant Vice President of Investment Banking at Citigroup, private Secretary and Chief of Staff for the Finance and Public Credit Ministry, and as an Economist for Colombia at Citigroup. The World Economic Forum selected him a Young Global Leader in 2011. Pinzón has remained an active member of the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

since 2000. In the early 2000s, he participated in the UNDP Expert Council's efforts to design a democratic security agenda for Colombia. While with the Ministry of Finance, he was responsible for the coordination of the Defence Ministry budget by special request of the Minister. Pinzón taught economics at the

and the Universidad de Los Andes. He has also published several articles in recognised academic magazines and newspapers on financial markets, macroeconomic policy and financial policy.

2018 Colombian Presidential Election

On 19 May 2017, Juan Carlos Pinzón declared his candidacy to become Colombia's next president in the 2018 elections. Pinzón has made his criticisms of the Colombian

Peace Process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...

a key element of his campaign, claiming that the FARC guerrilla group has not completely disarmed and that the amnesty program within the peace agreements are unfair to the country's victims. Colombian President

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by training and a journalist by trade, S ...

has rejected the criticism and attacked Pinzón personally, frankly stating that the struggle for power brings out the worst in human nature. Pinzón built a citizen movement called ' Ante Todo Colombia' to collect signatures so he could launch his presidential campaign and after getting more than half a million signatures, he became
Presidential candidate
A month later, he became th
Vice President candidate
for Germán Vargas Lleras, thus withdrawing his own campaign.

Personal life

Pinzón was born on 22 December 1971 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 ...

to Coronel Rafael Pinzón Rincón and Marlene Bueno. He is married to María del Pilar Lozano.

References

External links

Ministry of National Defence: Profile of the Minister

Ministry of National Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinzon, Juan Carlos 1971 births Living people Politicians from Bogotá Pontificia Universidad Javeriana alumni Academic staff of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Colombian economists Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni Ministers of defense of Colombia Directors of the Administrative Department of the Presidency of Colombia People from Tunja Ambassadors of Colombia to the United States 21st-century Roman Catholics