Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990.

Early life

Barco was born in Cúcuta in the

Norte de Santander Department Norte de Santander (Spanish for Northern Santander) () is a departments of Colombia, department of northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. Norte ...

of Colombia to Jorge Enrique Barco Maldonado and Julieta Vargas Durán. He studied

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...

and at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

from which he graduated in 1943. He entered politics in 1943 when he became a city council member for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in the town of Durania. He was then elected to the lower house of Congress, but went into exile to the US in 1950 because of violence between liberals and conservatives. His daughter, Carolina Barco Isakson (who would later become a Colombian politician herself) was born there. He obtained an M.A. in economics at MIT, where he took classes under

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winners

Robert Solow Robert Merton Solow, GCIH (; August 23, 1924 – December 21, 2023) was an American economist who received the 1987 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, and whose work on the theory of economic growth culminated in the exogenous growth ...

and

Paul Samuelson Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize in 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he "h ...

in 1952. In 1954 he obtained a PhD in economics from Boston University. Barco is the grandson of Colombian General Virgilio Barco M., who developed one of the country's largest oil concessions in 1905.

Political career

Barco returned to Colombia in 1954 to help negotiate the peace process which allowed the formation of the National Front between liberals and conservatives, which lasted two decades. He became a member of the

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

, the upper house of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1958, left to become the ambassador to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 1961, and returned to Colombia in 1962. He served another term in the Senate until 1966, when he was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Colombia's capital,

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 ...

. He served in that position until 1969, when he became a director of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

until 1974. He then served as ambassador to the United States from 1977 until 1980.

Presidency

Barco was elected

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Colombia with 58% of the vote in 1986. He supported

anti-poverty program Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics classic ...

s, renewed dialogue with leftist guerillas and fought drug traffickers. Though he was popular within the international community, he became less popular in Colombia because the drug traffickers became more violent after he started to move against them. His restrictive economic policies at first doomed the country. After two years of this, The Economic Openness program was initiated by his administration, which would open Colombian markets to the world and recharge the country's economy. He served one 4-year term.

Post-Presidency and death

When he left the Presidency in 1990, he served as ambassador to Britain again until 1992. Barco was diagnosed with cancer and he died on May 20, 1997, in

when he was 75. He is now buried in the Central Cemetery of Bogotá.

Popular culture

* Barco is portrayed by the colombian actor Jorge Zúñiga as the character of Ramiro Vargas in TV series '' Pablo Escobar, The Drug Lord''.

References

External links

Biography and tenure of Virgilio Barco by CIDOB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barco Vargas, Virgilio 1921 births 1997 deaths Virgilio People from Cúcuta Colombian people of Spanish descent National University of Colombia alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni Boston University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences alumni Colombian civil engineers Colombian Liberal Party politicians Ministers of public works of Colombia Ambassadors of Colombia to the United Kingdom Ministers of finance and public credit of Colombia Ministers of agriculture of Columbia Mayors of Bogotá Ambassadors of Colombia to the United States Presidents of Colombia Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Colombia Burials at Central Cemetery of Bogotá Colombian expatriates in the United States