César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ({{IPA|es|ˈsesaɾ awˈɣusto ɣaˈβiɾja tɾuˈxiʝo|lang}} ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National Director of the Colombian Liberal Party from 2005 to 2009. During his tenure as president, he summoned the Constituent Assembly of Colombia that enacted the Constitution of 1991.

Early life and education

Born in Pereira, the Gaviria family had been important figures in Colombian politics and economy for over 30 years. César Gaviria is the distant cousin of José Narces Gaviria, the CEO of Bancolombia from 1988 to 1997. José N. Gaviria encouraged César Gaviria to run for the Congress of Colombia in early childhood. He was first elected to Congress in 1974. He served in Virgilio Barco's government, first as Minister of Finance and later as the Minister of the Interior.{{cite journal |url=http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/moviendo-las-fichas/9024-3 |title=Moviendo Las Fichas |date=22 June 1987 |language=es |journal=Semana |issn=0124-5473 |oclc=7475329 |access-date=28 May 2014 }}

As a student, Gaviria spent a year as an exchange student in the United States with AFS Intercultural Programs.

Before entering politics, he studied at the University of the Andes in the 1960s. He established AIESEC there, and then in 1968 was elected President of AIESEC in Colombia. This began his public service career.

Political career

At 23, he was elected councilman in his hometown of Pereira, and four years later he became the city's mayor. In 1974 he was elected to the Chamber of Representatives, of which he was president of in 1984–85. Three years later he became co-chair of the Colombian Liberal Party.

He was the debate chief of Luis Carlos Galán, during Galán's 1989 presidential campaign, which was cut short by Galán's assassination on 18 August. Recently promoted to his campaign manager, Gaviria was proclaimed as Galán's political successor by his son, Juan Manuel Galán. His two main competitors were Hernando Durán Dussán, backed by regional party leaders, and Ernesto Samper.{{cite journal |last=Martz |first=John D. |title=Political Parties and Candidate Selection in Venezuela and Colombia |journal=Political Science Quarterly |date=1999 |volume=114 |issue=4 |page=655 |doi=10.2307/2657787 |publisher=Academy of Political Science |issn=0032-3195 |jstor=2657787 |oclc=1356913159}} His campaign was also the target of attacks by Pablo Escobar; Gaviria was to take Avianca Flight 203, bound for Cali. For security reasons he did not board the flight. The plane, with 107 people aboard, exploded, killing everyone on board.{{cite web|url=http://www.noticiascaracol.com/colombia/hace-25-anos-fue-atentado-contra-avion-de-avianca-ordenado-por-pablo-escobar |title=Hace 25 años fue atentado contra avión de Avianca, ordenado por Pablo Escobar |language=es |publisher=Caracol |date=27 November 2014 |access-date=26 May 2015}} Despite these challenges, he was nominated as the Liberal presidential candidate, receiving 60% of the vote against Samper's 18.5% and Durán's 14.4%.

=Presidency=

In 1990, he was elected President of Colombia, running as a Liberal Party candidate. During his government a new constitution was adopted in 1991.{{cite web|url=http://lasillavacia.com/quienesquien/perfilquien/cesar-gaviria-trujillo |title=Perfil César Gaviria Trujillo |language=es |publisher=Quién es Quién |access-date=26 May 2015}} As president, Gaviria also led the fight against the Medellín and Cali drug cartels, and various guerrilla factions.

Under his presidency, the prison La Catedral was built, but to Pablo Escobar's specifications. When Escobar was imprisoned there, he continued to control his drug empire; he also murdered several of his rivals inside the prison. On 20 July 1992, Escobar escaped after learning that he was going to be moved to a different prison. On 2 December 1993, the notorious drug lord was gunned down. His death was a triumph for the Gaviria administration.

File:World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 1992 - Caviria Trujillo & Klaus Schwab.jpg at the World Economic Forum's 1992 annual meeting]]

Despite stable economic growth and foreign investment, 45 per cent of Colombians lived below the poverty line (particularly in rural areas) and slums were growing around major cities. Created by drug traffickers and supported by the army (President Gaviria said he saw them as a "possible solution"), paramilitary groups (autodefensas) were often engaged in fighting the country's various guerrilla factions. In cities, these groups carried out social cleaning missions. Tramps, marginalized people, street children and homosexuals were murdered by these groups. Many judges, several senators, priests, and even the head of the national police have been convicted of links with traffickers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1993/01/PROLONGEAU/44929|title=Violences colombiennes dans les rues et dans les têtes|date=January 1993}}

His government created the "Convivir" in 1994, which was supposed to help the army predict the activities of insurgent groups through a network of informers. However, according to journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina, "the reality has shown that the Convivir have legalized networks of hired killers in the service of drug traffickers and landowners, while having as their main objective the use of the civilian population as a cover for the paramilitary movement."[https://diplo.org.br/2003-04,a605 Os paramilitares e o terrorismo de Estado colombiano], bibliotecadiplo, 01/04/2003

=Secretary General of the OAS=

Image:Gaviriaoas.png.]]

In 1994, Gaviria was elected Secretary General of the OAS (his term beginning after the end of his presidential term in August 1994). Reelected in 1999, he worked extensively on behalf of Latin America. Between October 2002 and May 2003, he served as international facilitator of the OAS mesa process, aimed at finding a solution to the internal Venezuelan political crisis between President Hugo Chávez and the Coordinadora Democrática opposition.Andrew F. Cooper, and Thomas Legler (2005), "A Tale of Two Mesas: The OAS Defense of Democracy in Peru and Venezuela," Global Governance 11(4)

File:Cesar Gaviria y Horacio Serpa.jpg, and Horacio Serpa, 14 October 2003]]

=President=

Gaviria was proclaimed the sole chief of the Liberal Party in June 2005. On 27 April 2006, his sister Liliana Gaviria was killed by unknown gunmen.{{cite web |url=http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/actualidad/asesinada-liliana-gaviria-hermana-del-ex-presidente-cesar-gaviria-trujillo/20060427/nota/280754.aspx |title=Asesinada Liliana Gaviria, hermana del ex presidente César Gaviria Trujillo |language=es |publisher=Caracol |date=27 April 2006 |access-date=26 May 2015 |archive-date=26 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526151232/http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/actualidad/asesinada-liliana-gaviria-hermana-del-ex-presidente-cesar-gaviria-trujillo/20060427/nota/280754.aspx |url-status=dead }}

His son, Simón Gaviria, led the Liberal Party between 2011 and 2014 and then served as national director of planning under the government of Juan Manuel Santos from 2014 to 2017. César Gaviria then took over the leadership of the party. He supported Iván Duque's candidacy for the 2018 presidential election, which Duque won.

Gaviria is a member of the Club of Madrid,{{cite web |url=http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/cesar_gaviria |title=Gaviria, César President of Colombia (1990-1994) |publisher=Club of Madrid |access-date=26 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526151544/http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/cesar_gaviria |archive-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.clubmadrid.org/ Club de Madrid] is an independent non-profit organization created to promote "Democracy that Delivers". It is composed of more than 100 Members, all democratic former presidents and prime ministers from around the world. an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community, composed by more than 100 members: former democratic Heads of State and Government from around the world.

=Pandora Papers=

In October 2021, his name was mentioned in the Pandora Papers as the owner of a company located in Panama, a country considered a tax haven, through which he acquired Colombian companies.[https://colombiareports.com/pandora-papers-reveal-offshore-activities-of-colombias-ex-presidents/ Pandora papers reveal offshore activities of Colombia’s ex-presidents], Adriaan Alsema, October 4, 2021

In popular culture

In the television series. El cartel, he is referred to as 'Francisco Buendía'
Gaviria is portrayed by the Colombian actor Fabián Mendoza in the television series Escobar, el Patrón del Mal.{{cite news|url=http://www.elespectador.com/el-patron-del-mal/fabian-mendoza-sera-cesar-gaviria-escobar-el-patron-del-articulo-363719 |title=Fabián Mendoza será 'César Gaviria' en Escobar, El Patrón del Mal |language=es |newspaper=El Espectador |date=30 July 2012 |access-date=26 May 2015}}
In the television series Tres Caínes, he is portrayed by the Colombian actor Mario Ruiz as the character of Germán Giraldo.
In Narcos, a 2015 Netflix original series, Gaviria is portrayed by Mexican actor Raúl Méndez.

Sources

External links

{{C-SPAN|15866}}
[https://www.cidob.org/es/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/colombia/cesar_gaviria_trujillo Biografía CIDOB] Biography in Spanish by CIDOB

Category:1947 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Pereira, Colombia

Category:University of Los Andes (Colombia) alumni

Category:Colombian economists

Category:Colombian Liberal Party politicians

Category:Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia

Category:Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia

Category:Ministers of finance and public credit of Colombia

Category:Ministers of government of Colombia

Category:Presidents of Colombia

Category:Permanent representatives of Colombia to the Organization of American States