María Consuelo "Conchi" Araújo Castro (

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. The ...

, October 27, 1971) is a Colombian politician. She was

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

from 2002 to 2006, and

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, ...

from 2006 to 2007 in the government of

Álvaro Uribe Vélez Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish language, Spanish, Galician language, Galician and Portuguese language, Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez (surname), ...

. Later, during the second Mayor's Office of

Enrique Peñalosa Enrique Peñalosa Londoño (born 30 September 1954) is a Colombian politician. He was Mayor of Bogotá, mayor of Bogotá from 1998 until 2001 and elected again in 2015 for the 2016–2019 term. Early life and education Peñalosa was born in ...

, served as

Secretary of Social Integration of Bogotá A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evaluati ...

and as manager of

TransMilenio TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and Soacha, a neighbouring city. The system opened to the public in December 2000. As of 2024, 12 lines totalling run throughout the city. It is pa ...

. She is currently the CEO of Gran Colombia Gold Corp. and part of the Mañanas Blu team with

Néstor Morales Néstor Javier Morales Corredor (born ''Nestor Javier Morales'' in 26 February 1963) is a Colombian news program host of Noticias Uno, he was in Viva FM of Caracol Radio, La W of W Radio (Colombia), W radio, newspaper El Nuevo Siglo, Todelar, in N ...

Biography

Personal life Araújo comes from a family closely linked to

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

. Her father, Álvaro Araújo Noguera, was part of the government of

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 ...

, her aunt Consuelo Araújo Noguera was Minister of Culture of

Andrés Pastrana Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

and her brother,

Álvaro Araújo Castro Álvaro Araújo Castro (born 7 November 1967) is a Colombian economist and former actor and Senator of Colombia. A Liberal politician, leader of the ALAS-Team Colombia political movement, and founder of Alternative for Social Advance (ALAS) ...

, was a

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 ...

and leader of the ALAS-Team Colombia. She studied Finance and International Relations at the Externado University of Colombia and is a specialist in Government, Management and Public Affairs from the same institution. She was director of the

José Celestino Mutis José Celestino Bruno Mutis y Bosio (6 April 1732 – 11 September 1808) was a Spanish people, Spanish priest, botanist and mathematician. He was a significant figure in the Spanish American Enlightenment, whom Alexander von Humboldt met with ...

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

during the administration of

Mayor of Bogotá 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 ...

(1998–2000) and of the city's District Institute of Recreation and Sports, under the government of

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 ...

(2001–2003). After resigning from her position as chancellor she went on to serve as postgraduate director of the Faculty of Finance, Government and International Relations of the Externado University of Colombia. She is married to the Argentine photographer Ricardo Mazalán and has a daughter, Susana, in 2002. As Minister frameless During the first term of President

(2002 - 2006), Araújo served as Minister of Culture. In 2006, after a diplomatic crisis caused by former presidents

Ernesto Samper Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He is a lawyer, economist, academic and pol ...

and

, Araújo, who had been designated as a future ambassador to Mexico, was appointed chancellor, replacing Carolina Barco, who went on to replace Andrés Pastrana in the

United States embassy The United States has the second largest number of active diplomatic posts of any country in the world after the People's Republic of China, including 272 bilateral posts (embassies and consulates) in 174 countries, as well as 11 permanent miss ...

. position he held since August 7 of the same year. On 19 February 2007, she resigned from her ministerial portfolio following the arrest of her brother,

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 ...

, investigated and charged with giving support to paramilitary groups active in the country's ongoing

internal conflict In narrative, an internal conflict is the struggle occurring within a character's mind. Things such as what the character yearns for, but can't quite reach. As opposed to external conflict, in which a character is grappling some force outside of ...

. Her father was under investigation for the same crimes. She recommended

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 ...

(no relation) and he was appointed as new minister by the president. After resigning as minister She has been the CEO of Gran Colombia Gold Corp. since 20 August 2010.

References

External links

Presidency of the Republic of Colombia
1971 births Living people People from Valledupar Maria Consuelo Ministers of foreign affairs of Colombia Ministers of culture of Colombia Women government ministers of Colombia Female foreign ministers 21st-century Colombian women politicians 21st-century Colombian politicians Colombian women diplomats {{Colombia-politician-stub