César Gaviria is known in Latin America as a conflict mediator, advocate of democracy, staunch supporter of regional integration and defender of human rights. Elected as President of Colombia in May 1990, he served from 1990-1994, enacting policies to strengthen democracy, promoting peace and reintegrating armed rebels into civilian life.

In 1991, through a plebiscite and elected constitutional assembly, Colombia drafted a new, more democratic constitution. He was subsequently elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1994 and re-elected for a second term from 1999 to 2004. Through his strategy for a “New Vision of the OAS,” Gaviria fostered profound institutional changes that reinvigorated the inter-American agenda and prepared the Organization to meet the challenges the region faces today. During Gaviria’s tenure, the OAS intensified efforts to improve hemispheric security and to combat terrorism, drugs and corruption.

Gaviria began his career in public service at age 23, immediately after obtaining his degree in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, when he was elected councilman in his hometown of Pereira. He was the national director of the Liberal Party from 2005 to 2009.

He is a founding member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and a member of the (regional) Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy (LACDD).