Rodrigo Hernán Lloreda Caicedo (2 September 1942 — 4 February 2000) was a Colombian lawyer and politician who was appointed to several senior positions under different presidents, with both domestic and foreign affairs responsibilities, beginning in 1968 as appointed governor of his department and briefly as ambassador to the United States. In his last post, Lloreda was the 17th Minister of National Defence, serving under

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 ...

Andrés Pastrana Arango Andrés Pastrana Arango (born 17 August 1954) is a Colombian politician who was the 30th President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002, following in the footsteps of his father, Misael Pastrana Borrero, who was president from 1970 to 1974. Early ...

from 1998 to 1999.

Early life and education

Born on 2 September 1942 in

Santiago de Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, Valle del Cauca, Rodrigo Hernán was the youngest of three children of

Álvaro Lloreda Caicedo Álvaro Lloreda Caicedo (15 October 1903 — 10 April 1985) was a Colombian industrialist, newspaper publisher, and politician. In 1949 Lloreda, along with his brothers Mario and Alfredo, founded the newspaper ''El País,'' which continues in pr ...

, a wealthy Colombian industrialist and politician, who in 1949 founded the newspaper ''

El Pais (Cali) EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a List of Shugo Chara! characters#El, character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (Stranger Things), Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fiction ...

'', which he directed for 25 years. His mother was Mercedes Caicedo Ortiz, from Costa Rica. His family's political and economic status meant that Lloreda received a privileged education. After attending the Colegio Berchmans in Cali, he completed most of his primary and secondary studies abroad, first in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at the École nouvelle de la Suisse romande; then in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the Nyack School for Boys in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village primarily located in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, a small western section of the village lies in Clarkst ...

; and the

Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in Rockville, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit boarding s ...

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

. He returned to Colombia after his graduation and was accepted to 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 he graduated in 1965 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

Career

Lloreda became active in the Conservative party, in which his family had held offices for two generations. In 1968 at the age of 26, he was appointed to a four-year term by the President of Colombia as the 51st Governor of Valle del Cauca, his home province. (Since 1991, governors have been elected by popular vote.) He also served in other appointed positions: as the 22nd

Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations The permanent representative of Colombia to the United Nations is the permanent representative of the Republic of Colombia to the United Nations, accredited as Concurrent Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, and Montenegro. The ...

, Ambassador to the United States (1986),"Diplomatic Representation for Republic of Colombia"
US Department of State, 201o, accessed 22 April 2012 the 63rd Minister of National Education, and as

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) () also known as the Chancellery (), is the Cabinet position of the Government of Colombia responsible for the international relations of Colombia through its diplomatic missions abroad by formulating fore ...

. In his last position, he was appointed as the 17th Minister of National Defence, serving under

from 1998 to 1999. Lloreda died of cancer in February 2000.

Marriage and family

Lloreda met Aura Lucía Mera Becerra while he was attending the Pontifical Xavierian University, and they married on 5 December 1964 in Bogotá. Together they had four children: twin boys, Rodrigo and Francisco José; María Mercedes, and Aura Lucía. The couple divorced in 1971. On 12 October 1974 Lloreda married again, to the folk singer María Eugenia Piedrahíta Plata. They have a daughter, María Eugenia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloreda Caicedo, Rodrigo 1942 births 2000 deaths People from Cali Politicians from Cauca Valley Colombian people of Costa Rican descent Pontificia Universidad Javeriana alumni 20th-century Colombian lawyers Colombian Conservative Party politicians Governors of Valle del Cauca Department Presidential Designates of Colombia Ministers of national education of Colombia Ministers of foreign affairs of Colombia Ministers of defense of Colombia Lloreda family