The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Colombia

This page contains a list of the greatest Colombian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 42 of which were born in Colombia. This makes Colombia the birth place of the 68th most number of Politicians behind Albania, and Mongolia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Colombian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Colombian Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Colombian Politicians.

1. Juan Manuel Santos (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 64.00, Juan Manuel Santos is the most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 90 different languages on wikipedia.

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (Spanish: [ˈxwam maˈnwel ˈsantos kaldeˈɾon]; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by training and a journalist by trade, Santos is a member of the wealthy and influential Santos family, who from 1913 to 2007 were the majority shareholders of El Tiempo, Colombia's newspaper of record. In 1991, Santos was appointed by President César Gaviria Trujillo as Colombia's first Minister of Foreign Trade. In 2000, he was appointed by President Andrés Pastrana Arango as the 64th Minister of Finance and Public Credit. Santos rose to prominence during the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who was elected in 2002. In 2005, Santos co-founded and led the Social Party of National Unity (Party of the U), a liberal-conservative party coalition that backed the policies of President Uribe, successfully supporting his attempt to seek a constitutional reform to be able to run for a second term. In 2006, after Uribe's re-election, when the Party of the U won a majority of seats in the two chambers of Congress, Santos was appointed as Minister of National Defence, and continued defending the security policies of President Uribe, taking a strong and forceful stance against FARC and the other guerrilla groups operating in Colombia. His time at the Ministry of Defense was tarnished by the "False positives" scandal, the executions of thousands of civilians that the army passed off as guerrillas killed in combat. In 2010, Santos won the presidential election as the protégé of Uribe. Some months later, Uribe became his strongest opponent, and also founded three years later the opposition party Democratic Center. This rivalry determined both Santos' unpopularity and his near-missed defeat during the 2014 Colombian presidential election against Uribe's protégé Óscar Iván Zuluaga. On 7 October 2016, Santos was announced as recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts negotiating a peace treaty with the FARC-guerrilla in the country, despite his defeat in the referendum held over the deal, where the "No" campaign led by Uribe's Democratic Center won narrowly. The Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal on 24 November and sent it to Congress for ratification instead of conducting a second referendum. Both houses of Congress ratified the revised peace accord on 29–30 November 2016, marking an end to the conflict. The treaty brought deep divisions and polarization in the country, which questions its legitimacy. Santos has been named as one of Time's 100 most influential people. Santos left office with one of the lowest levels of popular approval ever, and his successor was Uribe's new protégé, Iván Duque, a moderate critic of Santos' peace treaty with the FARC guerillas.

2. César Gaviria (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 63.61, César Gaviria is the 2nd most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo (Spanish: [ˈsesaɾ awˈɣusto ɣaˈβiɾja tɾuˈxiʝo] ; 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.

3. Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela (1939 - 2022)

With an HPI of 60.44, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela is the 3rd most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Gilberto José Rodríguez Orejuela (30 January 1939 – 31 May 2022) was a Colombian drug lord and one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel. Orejuela formed the cartel with his brother, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, José Santacruz Londoño, and Hélmer Herrera. The cartel emerged to prominence in the early 1990s, and was estimated to control about 80% of the American and 90% of the European cocaine markets in the mid-1990s. Rodríguez Orejuela was captured after a 1995 police campaign by Colombian authorities and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He obtained early release in 2002, and was re-arrested in 2003, after which he was extradited to the United States. There, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, where he died in 2022.

4. Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 60.22, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela is the 4th most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Orejuela (born August 15, 1943) is a convicted Colombian drug lord, formerly one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel, based in the city of Cali. He is the younger brother of Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela. He married Miss Colombia 1974, Martha Lucía Echeverry.

5. Gustavo Petro (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 60.07, Gustavo Petro is the 5th most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (Latin American Spanish: [ɡusˈtaβo fɾanˈsisko ˈpetɾo wˈreɣo]; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who is the 34th and current president of Colombia since 2022. Upon inauguration, he became the first left-wing president in the recent history of Colombia. At 17 years old, Petro joined the guerrilla group 19th of April Movement (M-19). Seventeen years later it evolved into the M-19 Democratic Alliance, a political party. Petro also served as a councilman in Zipaquirá. He was arrested in 1985 and tortured by the army for his affiliation with the M-19. After the peace process between the Colombian government and the M-19, he was released and then elected to the Chamber of Representatives in the 1991 Colombian parliamentary election. Some years later, he was elected to the Colombian Senate as a member of the Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) party following the 2006 Colombian parliamentary election, where he secured the second-largest vote. In 2009, he resigned his Senate seat to run in the 2010 Colombian presidential election, finishing fourth. He was elected mayor of Bogotá in 2011, and held the post until 2015. Due to ideological disagreements with the leaders of the PDA, he founded the Humane Colombia movement to compete for the mayoralty of Bogotá. On 30 October 2011, he was elected mayor in the local elections, a position he assumed on 1 January 2012. In the first round of the 2018 Colombian presidential election, he came second with over 25% of the votes on 27 May, and lost in the run-off election on 17 June. He defeated Rodolfo Hernández Suárez in the second round of the 2022 Colombian presidential election on 19 June.

6. Rodrigo Lara (1946 - 1984)

With an HPI of 58.56, Rodrigo Lara is the 6th most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Rodrigo Lara Bonilla (Spanish: Rodrigo Lara Bonilla; August 11, 1946 – April 30, 1984) was a Colombian lawyer and politician, who served as Minister of Justice under President Belisario Betancur, and was assassinated by orders of Pablo Escobar because of his work as Minister in prosecuting cocaine traffickers mainly belonging to the Medellín Cartel. Lara's death led to Escobar's indictment for murder, which would be the beginning of his eventual downfall.

7. Luis Carlos Galán (1943 - 1989)

With an HPI of 58.29, Luis Carlos Galán is the 7th most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento (29 September 1943 – 18 August 1989) was a Colombian liberal politician and journalist who ran for the Presidency of Colombia on two occasions, the first time for the political movement New Liberalism that he founded in 1979. The movement was an offspring of the mainstream Colombian Liberal Party, and with mediation of former Liberal president Julio César Turbay Ayala, Galán returned to the Liberal party in 1989 and sought the nomination for the 1990 presidential election, but was assassinated before the vote took place. Galán declared himself an enemy of the drug cartels and the influence of the mafia in Colombian politics, in this case the main drug cartel being the Medellin Cartel led by Pablo Escobar and who unsuccessfully tried to become a member of the New Liberalism Movement in his bid to become a member of the Colombian House of Representatives. Galán denounced Pablo Escobar in a public rally, and supported the extradition treaty with the U.S, contrary to the wishes of the Colombian cartels that feared extradition to the U.S. After receiving several death threats, on 18 August 1989, Galán was shot and killed by hitmen hired by the drug cartels of Pablo Escobar during a campaign rally in the town of Soacha, Cundinamarca. At the time, he was comfortably leading the polls with 60 percent favourable ratings for the forthcoming 1990 presidential election. While the investigation into his assassination remains unsolved, Galan's assassination was a crucial factor in the downfall of the Medellin Cartel a few years later.

8. Álvaro Uribe (b. 1952)

With an HPI of 57.89, Álvaro Uribe is the 8th most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 53 different languages.

Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in the Public Enterprises of Medellín and in the Ministry of Labor and was the director of the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics (1980–1982). He became the Mayor of Medellín in October 1982. He was a senator between 1986 and 1994 and finally the Governor of Antioquia between 1995 and 1997 before being elected President of Colombia in 2002. Following his 2002 election, Uribe led an all-out military offensive against leftist guerrilla groups such as the FARC and the ELN with funding and backing from the Clinton and Bush administrations in the form of a $2.8 billion USD direct foreign aid package called "Plan Colombia". He also led a controversial effort to demobilize the right-wing paramilitary group known as the AUC. All of these groups were part of the Colombian Armed Conflict. His role in the conflict was accompanied by large-scale alleged exactions: thousands of civilians were killed by the Colombian army, as part of the "false positives" scandal, with almost total impunity. Their deaths are being investigated by the United Nations. Millions of people were the victims of forced displacement. In August 2010, Uribe was appointed vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid. In 2012 Uribe and a group of political allies founded the right-wing Democratic Center movement to contest the 2014 national elections. He was elected senator in the 2014 parliamentary election and took office in July 2014. Uribe was critical of his successor Juan Manuel Santos's peace talks with the FARC guerrillas. In August 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ordered his arrest as part of an investigation into bribery and witness tampering. He was released from house arrest on 10 October. The case went to the Fiscalía General de la Nación, after which Uribe resigned from his Senate seat. A number of his political opponents have claimed for years that Uribe should be prosecuted, alleging he has ties with paramilitarism.

9. Virgilio Barco Vargas (1921 - 1997)

With an HPI of 57.46, Virgilio Barco Vargas is the 9th most famous Colombian Politician. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990.

10. Íngrid Betancourt (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 57.19, Íngrid Betancourt is the 10th most famous Colombian Politician. Her biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈiŋɡɾið βetaŋˈkuɾ]; born 25 December 1961) is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist, especially opposing political corruption. Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on 23 February 2002 while campaigning for the Colombian presidency as a Green candidate, and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008. The rescue operation, dubbed Operation Jaque, rescued Betancourt along with 14 other hostages (three United States citizens, and 11 Colombian policemen and soldiers). She had decided to campaign in the former "zone of dissention", after the military operation "Tanatos" was launched, and after the zone was declared free of guerrillas by the government. Her kidnapping received worldwide coverage, particularly in France, where she also held citizenship due to her prior marriage to a French diplomat. Betancourt received multiple international awards in 2008 at her liberation, such as the Légion d'honneur or the Concord Prince of Asturias Award. After her release, she was portrayed by some of her fellow captives as "controlling and manipulative"; others described her as "caring" and "courageous". One of them (Luis Eladio Pérez) claims Betancourt saved his life. On 18 January 2022, she announced her candidacy for the 2022 Colombian presidential election in which she finished seventh.

People

Pantheon has 58 people classified as Colombian politicians born between 1765 and 1981. Of these 58, 13 (22.41%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Colombian politicians include Juan Manuel Santos, César Gaviria, and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela. The most famous deceased Colombian politicians include Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Rodrigo Lara, and Luis Carlos Galán. As of April 2024, 15 new Colombian politicians have been added to Pantheon including Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, and Piedad Córdoba.