Gina María Parody d'Echeona (born November 13, 1973) is a Colombian politician. Born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

in 1973, Parody graduated as a lawyer from

Pontifical Xavierian University The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (English: Xavierian Pontifical University) is a private university in Colombia founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional Colombian universities, directed by the Society of Jesus, with its ...

and became a politician. She has served as Director of the National Learning Service (SENA), as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, as member of the

Chamber of Representatives of Colombia The Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: ''Cámara de Representantes'') is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia. It has 172 members elected to four-year terms. Electoral system According to the Colombian Constitution, the Chamber of ...

, and most recently as Minister of Education.

Career

Parody studied law at the

, obtaining a specialization in

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of Conflict (process), conflict and Revenge, retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively co ...

. She also studied

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

at the

Universidad de Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the world in continuous operation. It ha ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She also earned a MPA from the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

. Upon her return to Colombia, Parody worked as adviser to María Isabel Rueda between 1998 and 2000. She later joined the political campaign for the presidency of

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician 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 Department, Antioquia. H ...

in the presidential elections of 2002. Uribe suggested her to run as an independent candidate for the

in representation of Bogota for the legislative elections of 2002. Parody achieved the second highest voting turnout in Bogota, only surpassed by

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who is the 34th and current president of Colombia since 2022. Upon inauguration, he became the Pink tide, first left-wing president in the History of Colombia, recen ...

Representative 2002-2006

In congress, Parody was notable for her defense of the politics of President Uribe. She was elected President of the First Commission of the Chamber of Representatives.

Senator 2006-2009

In the legislative elections of 2006, Parody decided to join the Social National Unity Party and ran for a seat in the senate. Parody was elected and attempted to nominate herself as candidate for President of the Congress of Colombia and senate, but her party selected

Dilian Francisca Toro Dilian Francisca Toro Torres (born 6 January 1959) is a Colombian physician and politician, she served as Senator of Colombia from 2002 to 2013. She was investigated by the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia on charges of money laundering, and ...

. She was elected instead as President of the First Commission of the senate. Because of the disorder within the party, Parody organized a dissidence along senate colleagues

Marta Lucía Ramírez Marta Lucía Ramírez Blanco (born 4 July 1954) is a Colombian lawyer and politician who served as 12th Vice President of Colombia from 2018 to 2022. She also served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. In 2018, Ramírez became the f ...

and

Armando Benedetti Armando Alberto Benedetti Villaneda (born 29 August 1967) is a Colombian politician. He served as Senator of Colombia from 2006 to 2022 and Member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia from 2002 to 2006. Career Benedetti attended the Po ...

and chamber representative Nicolás Uribe. In January 2009, Gina Parody announced that she was resigning her seat in the Colombian Congress. Parody's replacement is Marcos Cortés.

2011 mayoral candidacy

In May 2011, Parody announced her candidacy for Mayor of Bogota. Because she ran without the support of any political party, she collected signatures to run as a citizen movement affiliate. She was defeated by

2014 Ministry of Education

On August 20, 2014, Parody was appointed as the new Education Minister by President

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; 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, S ...

, replacing

María Fernanda Campo Saavedra María Fernanda Campo Saavedra is the former minister of education of Colombia until August 2014. In 2011 she was appointed Acting Mayor of Bogotá by President Juan Manuel Santos in replacement of Samuel Moreno Rojas, who was stripped of his ...

. The Secretary of Tourism, Industry and Commerce

Cecilia Álvarez-Correa Glen Cecilia Álvarez-Correa Glen (born 30 August 1953) is an Industrial Engineer and Colombian politician who served as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia under President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón. Álvarez-Correa is credit ...

recently made public their personal relationship. She resigned the Ministry of Education on October 4, 2016, shortly after the referendum of the

Colombian peace process The Colombian peace process refers to the negotiations between the Government of Colombia under President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) aimed at ending the decades-long Colombian conflict. Th ...

was voted as "No". It is believed it had to do with sex-ed schoolbooks called "Ambientes Escolares Libres de Discriminación" (Discrimination-Free School Environments) that were accused of promoting

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and

gender ideology The anti-gender movement is a global phenomenon that opposes concepts often referred to as "gender ideology" or "gender theory". These loosely-defined terms are commonly used by the movement to critique a range of issues related to gender equ ...

. Former president

and former Inspector General Alejandro Ordóñez joined the campaign against said schoolbooks, even when the same approach for sex-Ed was used during Uribe's administration.

References

External links

Gina Parody official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parody, Gina 1973 births Living people Politicians from Bogotá Social Party of National Unity politicians Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia 21st-century Colombian lawyers Colombian LGBTQ politicians Colombian lesbians 21st-century Colombian women politicians Ministers of national education of Colombia Lesbian politicians Women government ministers of Colombia LGBTQ government ministers 21st-century Colombian women lawyers Pontificia Universidad Javeriana alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni