Check Availability

Cesar Gaviria served as President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, and Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 until 2004. Gaviria is known in Latin America as a conflict mediator, an advocate of democracy and a staunch supporter of regional integration and defender of human rights.

After his last OAS term ended, Gaviria successfully created Hemispheric Partners, an international business advisory firm located in New York City. Returning to Colombia in 2005 after several visits in 2004, Gaviria once again became active in politics and was proclaimed as the sole chief of the Colombian Liberal Party in June 2005. He has declared that his goal is to promote the party's reunification in order to make it a viable alternative in the upcoming 2006 presidential elections.

Born in Pereira, Gaviria has long been an important figure in Colombian politics. He began his career at age 23, immediately after obtaining his degree in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, when he was elected councilman in his hometown of Pereira. Four years later, he became mayor. He was also professor of Principles of Economics and Public Finance at Universidad de los Andes during 1971 and taught a seminar level course on Colombian Economics between 1972 and 1974 at the Universidad Tecnologica de Pereira.

In 1974 he was elected to Colombia's House of Representatives. He rose to the top position in the House in 1983. Between 1983 and 1986 Gaviria was also economic columist for El Tiemo, his country's leading newspaper, and director of La Tarde, a regional paper based in his hometown.

In 1986, Gaviria became co-chair of the Colombian Liberal Party, a position he held during the successful presidential campaign of the party's candidate, Virgilio Barco.

Mr. Gaviria served in the Barco administration first as Minister of Finance and later as Minister of the Interior. He played a critical role in beginning peace negotiations with the leftist guerrilla group known as "M-19."

In early 1989 he left the government to manage the presidential campaign of Senator Luis Carlos Galan. Following the brutal murder of Senator Galan by drug traffickers, the Liberal Party chose Cesar Gaviria as its candidate. He was elected President of Colombia in May 1990.

During his four-year term (1990-94), he enacted policies to strengthen democracy, promote peace and reintegrate armed rebels into civilian life. He also carried out a process of constitutional and institutional change, focusing on strengthening the judiciary branch and increasing human rights protection. In 199l, through a plebiscite and elected constitutional assembly, Colombia drafted a new, more democratic constitution. President Gaviria also undertook economic reforms to modernize and enhance Colombia's competitiveness in the world market. He presided over the signing of free trade agreements between the members of the "Group of Three" (Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela) and between Colombia and CARICOM, and initiated the revitalization of the Andean Pact.

Gaviria was first elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States in 1994 (his period beginning after the end of his presidential term in August 1994). Reelected in 1999, he worked extensively on behalf of Latin America; between November 2002 and May 2003, he served as an honest broker in finding a solution to the Venezuelan political crisis between President Hugo Chavez and the opposition. The National Democratic Institute paid tribute to Secretary General Gaviria's leadership and the Organization's growing role in strengthening democratic values when it presented the Organization of American States with the 2002 W. Averell Harriman Award.

Gaviria was instrumental in defusing numerous crises in the region. From November 2002 to May 2003, he undertook an unprecedented effort to facilitate talks between the Venezuelan government and the representatives of the opposition. In his tenure, Gaviria also intensified efforts to improve hemispheric security and combat terrorism, drugs and corruption. The OAS has become a key player in the Summit of the Americas process and now serves as its technical secretariat and institutional memory. The Organization has also advanced the concept of integral solidarity and has reformed its technical cooperation programs.

Check Availability | + Add to Wishlist | Login to email this