Luis Alfredo Ramos Botero (born 19 April 1948) is a Colombian politician. Most recently, he was the Governor of the

Department of Antioquia Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part ...

from 2008 to 2011. A lawyer and a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician, Ramos has served as Councillor and Mayor of

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, Deputy to the Antioquia Departmental Assembly, Representative and

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 ...

to the

Congress of Colombia The Congress of the Republic of Colombia () is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature. The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Representatives, Members of both houses are e ...

, and Permanent Representative of Colombia to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

among other political posts. In August 2013, Luis Alfredo Ramos was imprisoned under investigation of the

Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia () in Bogotá is the highest judicial body in civil and penal matters and issues of criminal and civil procedure in Colombia. The court consists of twenty three judges, elected by the same institution i ...

, accused of criminal nexus with paramilitary groups in Antioquia but was later released in November 2016.

Early years

Ramos was born in the municipality and town of

Sonsón Sonsón is a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Sonsón is located in Eastern Antioquia. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sonsón–Rionegro. Sonsón celebrates "Las Fiestas Del Maíz"- ('Festival of ...

in the

on 19 April 1948. Ramos studied law at the '' Universidad de Medellín'' and specialized in International Business from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in the United States.

Political career

In 1972 Ramos is appointed head of the Conservative party post that he held for four years until 1976, he was also elected deputy of the Department Assembly of Antioquia for the period of 1974 and 1976. In 1976 was appointed General Controller of Antioquia, serving until 1978 when he was appointed Secretary of Finance of the City of

until 1980.

Congressman

Between 1982 and 1990 served as congressman in 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 ...

. In 1990 and 1991 was

Senator of Colombia The Senate of the Republic of Colombia () is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, Chamber of Representatives. The Senate has 108 members elected for concurrent (non ...

but with the dissolution of Congress by President

César Gaviria César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; 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 D ...

and the introduction of a

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

for a new

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

Ramos decided not to run again.

Mayor of Medellín

In 1992 Ramos was elected

Mayor of Medellín This is a list of mayors of Medellín, Colombia. Ordinary mayors of Villa de la Candelaria Until 1863, the administrator of Medellin was known as the Ordinary Mayor of Villa de la Candelaria de Medellín. * José Zapata y Múnera * Tomás Ibarr ...

for the period of 1992–1994. Ramos is dubbed the best Mayor in Colombia.

Minister of Foreign Trade

In 1996 during the presidency of

Ernesto Samper Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He is a lawyer, economist, academic and pol ...

, Ramos was appointed Minister of Foreign Trade, but due to the

Proceso 8000 The Process 8000 () is the unofficial name given to the corruption scandal surrounding accusations that Colombian Liberal Party candidate Ernesto Samper's 1994 campaign for President of Colombia was partially funded by drug money. The name came f ...

scandal in which it was made public that drug money belonging to the Cali Cartel financed the presidential campaign of Ernesto Samper, the Conservative party cut all ties with the Liberal administration of Samper and Ramos renounced.

Ambassador to the Organization of American States

After renouncing to his post as minister in the Samper administration, Ramos joined the presidential campaign of Conservative

Andrés Pastrana Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

for the presidential elections of 1998. Pastrana was elected president and Ramos was appointed Ambassador of Colombia to the

(OAS) until 2001.

Senator of Colombia 2002-2006

In 2001 Ramos returned to Colombia and postulated himself as candidate for the Senate of Colombia in representation of the Team Colombia political movement. He was elected in the legislative elections of 2002 with more than 230,000 votes. In his inauguration as senator on 20 July 2002, Ramos was elected also President of the Congress of Colombia and the senate. As president of Congress, he also inaugurated

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 ...

President of Colombia The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...

. For the legislative elections of 2006 Ramos decided to join political forces with the Alternative for Social Advance (ALAS) movement headed by

Álvaro Araújo Castro Álvaro Araújo Castro (born 7 November 1967) is a Colombian economist and former actor and Senator of Colombia. A Liberal politician, leader of the ALAS-Team Colombia political movement, and founder of Alternative for Social Advance (ALAS) ...

and created the

Somos Región Colombia The Somos Región Colombia Party (), or simply Partido Somos, sometimes We are Colombia (''Somos Colombia''), was a Colombian political party and successor to the ''ALAS Team Colombia'' party, a Centre-right politics, center-right political alli ...

party (originally ''Alas Equipo Colombia)''. The new political party supported the reelection of

and most of his policies in congress. Ramos term as senator ended on 19 July 2006. The Alas Equipo Colombia political party crumbled due to the imprisonment of Araujo and other members, involved in the Parapolitica scandal in which politicians colluded with paramilitary groups to coerced voters and opposition candidates to gain political advantage.

Governor of Antioquia

Ramos decided to postulate his name for Governor of the

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

in the regional elections of 2007 representing the ''Alas Equipo Colombia'' political party. Ramos was elected Governor of the Department of Antioquia on 28 October 2007, obtaining of 99.04% of the voting sites scrutinized 836,526 votes equivalent to 51.73% of the total votes (1,617,065 total votes). Ramos defeated candidate Eugenio Prieto Soto of the ''del Movimiento Una Antioquia Nueva'', who obtained 579,020 votes. Ramos was to be inaugurated as governor on 1 January 2008, for a period of 3 years until 31 December 2011. On 28 August 2013, the Supreme Court of Justice requested the arrest of former governor for alleged ties with paramilitary forces. The accusation is based on free testimony given by former paramilitary commanders Freddy Rendón Herrera, aka ‘El Alemán’ and Juan Carlos Sierra, aka ‘El Tuso’. On 2015 Freddy Rendón Herrera and Juan Carlos Sierra retracted from the testimony and accepted a plea bargain from Fiscalia General de la Nacion for False Testimony.

References

External links

Votebien.com: Luis Alfredo Ramos, 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Luis Alfredo 1948 births Living people Politicians from Antioquia 20th-century Colombian lawyers Mayors of Medellín Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia Presidents of the Senate of Colombia Universidad de Medellín alumni Harvard University alumni Permanent representatives of Colombia to the Organization of American States Team Colombia politicians Colombian Conservative Party politicians Ministers of foreign trade of Colombia