| President of the Republic of Colombia | |
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| Presidente de la República de Colombia | |
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| Government of Colombia Executive Branch of Colombia | |
| Style | Mr. President (informal) The Honorable (formal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Type | Head of state Head of government Commander-in-chief |
| Abbreviation | PDTE-CO |
| Member of | Cabinet National Government National Economic Council |
| Residence | Casa de Nariño |
| Seat | Bogotá, D.C. |
| Appointer | Popular vote or via succession |
| Term length | Four years, non renewable |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Colombia (1991) |
| Formation | December 17, 1819 (206 years ago) (1819-12-17) |
| First holder | Simón Bolívar |
| Succession | Line of succession |
| Salary | Colombian pesos 32,624,000/US$ 6,847 monthly[1] |
| Website | presidencia.gov.co |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Colombia |
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Thepresident of Colombia (President of the Republic) is thehead of state andhead of government ofColombia. The president heads the executive branch of thenational government and is thecommander-in-chief of theMilitary Forces of Colombia.
The power of the presidency has grown substantially since the first president,Simón Bolívar, took office in 1819. While presidential power has waxed and waned over time, the presidency has played an increasingly important role in Colombian political life since the early 20th century, with a notable expansion during the presidency ofÁlvaro Uribe.
The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by theCongress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was the "Gran Colombia". The first president, GeneralSimón Bolívar,[2] took office in 1819. His position, initially self-proclaimed, was subsequently ratified by Congress.
The president is directly elected through Universal Suffrage for a period of four years, along with thevice president. According toarticle 125 of the constitution, ratified in 2018, no person who has been elected for a presidential term can be elected for a second. In addition, three vice presidents have become president by virtue of the death or resignation of a president during the term. In total, 34 people have served in36 presidencies that span 48 month (four-year) terms, withAlfonso López Pumarejo,Álvaro Uribe andJuan Manuel Santos being the only ones with double terms, in the case of López Pumarejo non-consecutive.Gustavo Petro is the 34th and current president, havingassumed office on 7 August 2022.
One of the most important executive powers is the role of the president asCommander-in-Chief of theColombian Military Forces. The power to declare war is constitutionally vested in Congress, but the president has ultimate responsibility for the direction and disposition of thearmed forces. The exact degree of authority that the Constitution grants to the president ascommander in chief has been ratified in article 189[3] of theConstitution, where it is described that the president has the function of directing the public force and disposing of it as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. of the Republic.[4]
Theexecutive branch is responsible for executing, in a coordinated manner, all the administrative activities that are at the service of the general interests of the community for the fulfillment of the essential purposes of thestate. It is represented by the president of the republic, who symbolizesnational unity, is thehead of state,head of government and supreme administrative authority.
Thenational government is formed by the president of the republic, the ministers of the office and the directors of administrative departments. The president and the correspondingminister ordirector of the department, in each particular business, constitute the government.[5]
The responsibility of judging the president of the republic is found in theSupreme Court of Justice, the main body in the event that the president is taken to political trial. Within the actions of the Supreme Court there will be 7 of which are the judge, the president of the republic, or whoever acts in his place, and the senior officials referred to in article 174, for any punishable act imputed to them, in accordance with article 175 numerals 2 and 3.[6]
it requires the president to "receive the ambassadors." This clause, known as the Reception Clause, has been interpreted to imply that the president possesses broad power over matters of foreign policy, and endorses the exclusiveauthority of the president to grant recognition to a foreign government. The Constitution also empowers the president to appointColombianambassadors and to propose and mainly negotiate agreements between Colombia and othercountries. Such agreements, upon receiving the advice of theminister of foreign affairs, become binding with the force of national law.
While foreign affairs have always been an important element of presidential responsibilities, technological advances since the adoption of theConstitution have increased presidential power. Where previouslyambassadors were vested with significant power by the president to negotiate independently on Colombia's behalf, presidents now routinely meet directly with leaders of foreign countries.[7]
Ashead of state, the president is the visible face of Colombia'sdomestic andforeign policy. In his role as leader, one of his aspects is to represent and safeguard the international image of the country, since 1934, the year in which it was officially created, it is the protocol office of theFirst Lady, she is the one who is in charge of accompanying the president at his receptions. and state visits abroad, gaining more importance over time.[8]
The president of Colombia symbolizes the National Unity, and after taking an oath to theConstitution of Colombia and swearing to defend and protect the nation's laws, he is charged to guarantee and protect the rights and liberties of all Colombian nationals.[9]
TheAdministrative Department of the Presidency of Colombia has the commission to assist or support the president of Colombia on its constitutional mandated functions and legal issues.[9]
Article 115 states that theNational Government is formed by the president of Colombia, thevice president of Colombia, theCouncil of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia and the Directors of theAdministrative Departments of Colombia. Any official from these entities constitute theGovernment of Colombia in any particular business.[citation needed]
Any act by the president of Colombia, in order to be legal and enforceable, must be sanctioned by any of theministries or department directors, who will also be held responsible for the act. The only exception is if the president appoints or removes ministers, administrative departments' directors and any other officials appointed by him under his administrative authority. Governors of theDepartments of Colombia, mayors ofMunicipalities of Colombia, as well as regional superintendents of Colombia, public establishments and industrial and commercial state owned enterprises, are all part of theexecutive branch of Colombia.[citation needed]
The president must be anatural-born citizen of Colombia, at least 30 years of age. TheConstitution of Colombia requires the president to meet the sameeligibility requirements as the president that can be re-elected.[10][11]
The modern presidential campaign begins before primary elections, which political parties use to clear the field of candidates before their national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is the party's or coalition's presidential candidate. In general, the presidential candidate of the party or, failing that, the coalition of parties chooses a candidate for the vice-presidency, generally being the second with the highest number of votes in the convention. The most common previous profession of presidents is that of a lawyer.
The president and vice president serve a term of office of four years after being elected bypopular vote. Since 2015, the president has been barred from running for reelection, even for a nonconsecutive term.[12]
From 1910 to 2005, the president was limited to a single term. However, on 24 November 2005, theColombian Congress introduced theElectoral Guarantees Law (Ley de Garantias Electorales), which modified Article 152, of theColombian Constitution of 1991 and allowed a president to run for a second term. The President or Vice President running for re-election was required to formally notify theNational Electoral Council and guarantee a fair competition for the other contenders. Participation of acting officials in political proselytism was standardized. Presidents or vice presidents not running for office were barred from participating on political proselytism. If one or both were running, they could only engage in political activity four months before theprimary elections. Also, if the president and/or vice president were running for office, they could participate in theirpolitical party's selection mechanism to postulate candidates. In 2010, theConstitutional Court of Colombia threw out a planned referendum to allow presidents to run for three consecutive terms. It ruled that Colombian presidents could only serve two terms, even if they are nonconsecutive.[13] In 2015, a constitutional amendment repealed the 2004 changes and reverted to the original one-term limit.[14]
The inauguration of the President is made up of various ceremonies and traditions carried out on August 7 every four years.[15] Through democratic elections or coups, resignations and deaths, presidential inaugurations[16] have been important events in the history of Colombia, which at the same time mark the beginning of new eras.[17][18]
The presidential sash is consideredsymbolic, which determines the figure of the president, there are no official records, but the firstpresidential sash was introduced byAntonio Nariño, who simulated thedecoration sash of order, over the years it has had different designs being one of the most characteristic, its first design that only consisted of the 3 colors of thenational flag, currently the presidential sash consists of the colors of the flag in the same order with the only difference that it consists of thecoat of arms in the central part, emulating thepresidential flag.
Currently theofficial residence of the Colombian president is theCasa de Nariño.[19] While in office, the president has the right to use its facilities and personnel, including medical care, recreation, domestic services, and security services. The first presidential palace whereSimón Bolívar dispatched afterIndependence of Colombia was the former Palace of the Viceroys, which was located on the western side of thePlaza Mayor ofBogotá (where thePalacio Liévano is currently located).[20] The 1827 earthquake left the property partially destroyed, for which reason the presidential office and the official residence were moved to thePalacio de San Carlos.[21] In 1885, the presidentRafael Núñez ordered the purchase of the house whereAntonio Nariño was born to use it as an official residence.[22] In 1906, the architectGastón Lelarge transformed the property into the Palacio de la Carrera and in 1979 the architect Fernando Alsina remodeled the building to the currentCasa de Nariño and designed the Plaza de Armas that left it directly connected to theNational Capitol.[23]
The House of Illustrious Guests in the city ofCartagena de Indias is the house where the Colombian president receives international guests.[24] Likewise, the President has the Hato Grande country estate, located inSopó,Cundinamarca as a resting place, which belonged to GeneralFrancisco de Paula Santander and was later acquired by the businessman from AntioquiaPepe Sierra, whose family donated it to the national government.[25]
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When traveling within Colombia or abroad, the President of the Republic uses the presidential plane identified with the registrationFAC 0001, (aBoeing 737 Business Jet BBJ class). The president also uses two helicopters inVIP configuration, aBell 412 with the registration FAC 0004 and aUH-60 Black Hawk with the registration FAC 0007.[26]
On December 7, 1927, PresidentMiguel Abadía Méndez signed a decree officially founding the Presidential Guard.[27] On August 16, 1928, the battalion was given its current name, with its first commander being Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Perea Sanclemente. Memorable actions of this battalion are remembered such as the protection given to the president during the violent acts of the Bogotazo (April 9, 1948) and during thePalace of Justice Siege on November 6, 1985.[27] Resolution 3446 of August 17, 1955, created the medallion “Guardia Presidencial” and Decree 1880 of 1988 ruled the award merits for this prize given to the distinguished members of the battalion for their loyalty, service and good behavior.
Since August 16, 1928, the security of the president has been in the hands of thePresidential Guard,[28] who also has the mission of maintaining the security of the president,his family and his official residence, theCasa de Nariño. Since 1958 it was given to the Presidential Guard Battalion, a sui generis organization in theNational Army, with a representation of the four arms and its units were calledInfantry,Cavalry,Artillery andEngineers.
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