Virgilio Barco Isakson
{{Short description|Colombian economist, political scientist and activist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Virgilio Barco Isakson
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1965}}
| birth_place = Bogota, Colombia
| nationality = Colombian-American
| alma_mater = Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New York University
| known_for = Impact investing, LGBTQI+ activism
| partner = Andrew Dier
| parents = Virgilio Barco Vargas
Carolina Isakson Proctor
| family = Carolina Barco (sister)
Julia Barco (sister)
Diana Barco (sister)
}}
{{family name hatnote|Barco|Isakson|lang=Spanish}}
Virgilio Barco Isakson (born 1965) is a Colombian impact investor and LBGTQI+ activist. He is the son of former Colombian President Virgilio Barco Vargas.
Career
Since 2013, Barco Isakson has been the first Latin America Director at Acumen, a leading impact investing fund that focuses on tackling global poverty.{{Cite web |title=Virgilio Barco |url=https://acumen.org/es/team/virgilio-barco/ |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=Acumen |language=es-ES}}
In 2018, Barco Isakson co-founded ALIVE, an Impact Fund Manager based in Bogota, Colombia and became its Managing Partner. In 2024, ALIVE was included in the Impact Assets 50 database of the 50 leading impact investment managers in the world.{{Cite web |title=ImpactAssets 50 |url=https://impactassets.org/ia50/?filters= |website=impactassets.org}}
From 2011 to 2013, Barco Isakson served as executive director of the Banca de Inversión Social, a nonprofit organization that is at the forefront of impact investing in Colombia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nesst.org/|title=Social Enterprise | Global Social Entrepreneurship|website=NESsT|accessdate=9 February 2024}}
From 2006 to 2010, Barco Isakson led Invest in Bogota, a public-private partnership that promotes foreign direct investment to the Greater Bogota region.{{Cite web|url=https://en.investinbogota.org/|title=Invest in Bogotá|date=30 November 2021|accessdate=9 February 2024}}
Previously, Barco Isakson headed the privatization unit at the Colombian Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and was an advisor on local economic development for the country's planning department.{{Cite web|url=http://acumenlatamcapitalpartners.com/en/virgilio-barco-en/|title=VIRGILIO-BARCO- {{!}} Acumen – ALCP|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-08}} He has also worked as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in Brazil and as a financial analyst at Citibank in Spain.
LGBTQI+ Activism
Barco Isakson is the co-founder and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Colombia Diversa, a Bogota-based nonprofit organization founded in 2004 that advocates for LGBTQI+ rights in Colombia.{{cite news| url = https://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2007/02/09/colombia_court_backs_rights_for_gay_couples/| title = Colombia court backs rights for gay couples - The Boston Globe| newspaper = Boston.com| date = 9 February 2007| last1 = Lakshmanan| first1 = Indira A. R.}} Colombia Diversa was instrumental in litigation that led the Colombian Constitutional Court to extend property, inheritance, and other benefits to same-sex couples in 2007, recognize de facto civil unions in 2009, and recognize same-sex marriage in 2011.{{Cite web |title=USAID Colombia LGBT activities |url=https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/USAID_Colombia_LGBT_activities_8.2012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917144913/https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/USAID_Colombia_LGBT_activities_8.2012.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 September 2024 |website=USAID}}
Education
Barco Isakson holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard University (1987), a Master of Science in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Arts in economics from New York University (1999).{{cite web |url=http://acumen.org/blog/press-releases/welcoming-our-new-latin-america-director-virgilio-barco/ |title=Welcoming our new Latin America Director, Virgilio Barco {{!}} Acumen |website=acumen.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312191928/http://acumen.org/blog/press-releases/welcoming-our-new-latin-america-director-virgilio-barco/ |archive-date=2014-03-12}}
Personal life
Barco Isakson was born to former Colombian president Virgilio Barco Vargas and Carolina Isakson Proctor. Barco Isakson is the youngest of four: Carolina, Julia, and Diana. He lives in Bogota with his partner, Andrew Dier, with whom he has been together since 1998.{{cite news |title=Son of former Colombian president joins gay group (in World News section) |work=Gay and Lesbian Times |author=Rex Wockner |date=October 21, 2004 |quote=Barco’s partner, Andrew Dier, is also working with the organization. }}
References
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Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Colombian people of American descent
Category:Colombian people of Swedish descent
Category:Children of presidents of Colombia
Category:Harvard College alumni
Category:MIT Sloan School of Management alumni
Category:New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni
Category:Colombian political scientists
Category:20th-century Colombian economists
Category:Colombian LGBTQ rights activists
Category:21st-century Colombian economists
Category:20th-century Colombian LGBTQ people
Category:21st-century Colombian LGBTQ people
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