Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego ODB ODSC ODIC (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡusˈtaβo fɾanˈsisko ˈpetɾo wˈreɣo]; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician, economist, and former member of the M19 armed guerrilla movement. He has been serving as the president of Colombia since 2022. Upon his inauguration, he became the first left-wing president in the recent history of Colombia.
Gustavo Petro | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2022 | |
| 34th President of Colombia | |
| Assumed office 7 August 2022 | |
| Vice President | Francia Márquez |
| Preceded by | Iván Duque |
| Senator of Colombia | |
| In office 20 July 2018 – 20 July 2022 | |
| In office 20 July 2006 – 20 July 2010 | |
| Mayor of Bogotá | |
| In office 23 April 2014 – 31 December 2015 | |
| Preceded by | María Mercedes Maldonado (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Enrique Peñalosa |
| In office 1 January 2012 – 19 March 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Clara López Obregón (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Rafael Pardo (acting) |
| Member of the Chamber of Representatives | |
| In office 20 July 1998 – 20 July 2006 | |
| Constituency | Capital District |
| In office 1 December 1991 – 20 July 1994 | |
| Constituency | Cundinamarca |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego 19 April 1960 Ciénaga de Oro, Córdoba, Colombia |
| Political party | Humane Colombia (2011–present) |
| Other political affiliations | M-19, ANAPO (1977–1997) Alternative Way (1998–2002) Regional Integration Movement (2002–2004) Alternative Democratic Pole (2004–2010) Historic Pact for Colombia (2021–present) |
| Spouses | Katia Burgos
(m. 1986; div. 1990)Mary Luz Herrán
(m. 1992; div. 2000) |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | Externado University of Colombia Graduate School of Public Administration Pontifical Xavierian University (Not finished) University of Salamanca Université catholique de Louvain |
| Signature | |
| Website | gustavopetro |
At 17 years of age, Petro became a member of the guerrilla group 19th of April Movement, which later evolved into the M-19 Democratic Alliance, a political party in which he was elected to be a member of the Chamber of Representatives in the 1991 Colombian parliamentary election. He served as a senator as a member of the Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) party following the 2006 Colombian parliamentary election with the second-largest vote. In 2009, he resigned his position to run in the 2010 Colombian presidential election, finishing fourth in the race.
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.