Faculty, students, and staff are cordially invited to attend “The New Colombia: A successful Case of U.S. Foreign Policy”, a lecture by His Excellency Luis Carlos Villegas, the Ambassador of Colombia to the United States, on Thursday, February 5th from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Press Room A of the Bill Moore Student Success Center. Ambassador Villegas will present a political and economic outlook and address advances on the bilateral agenda with the U.S. regarding information and communications technologies. Below is Ambassador Villegas’ short bio.

This interesting event is open to the entire GT community and students, faculty and staff from the following colleges, schools and majors are especially encouraged to attend: Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts (especially International Affairs, Modern Languages, Public Policy, Economics and related fields); College of Sciences (especially Psychology); and, College of Business.

Refreshments will be served. Casual attire. There is no need to RSVP. This event is sponsored by the Office of International Initiatives/Development and the Office of Hispanic Initiatives.

We look forward to seeing you on February 5th.

LUIS CARLOS VILLEGAS BIO

Luis Carlos Villegas was appointed Ambassador of Colombia to the United States on November 13, 2013, by President Juan Manuel Santos. Throughout his career, Villegas has been a leader in both the public and private sectors, including serving most recently as President of the National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI), a position he held for more than 17 years. In addition, Villegas is a member of the Colombian government’s negotiating team in the ongoing peace talks with FARC.

Besides his work on behalf of the Colombian business community, Villegas has also held a number of positions in public office. Between 1990 and 1992, he was a Senator representing the Risaralda department (state) of Colombia and served as its Governor between 1985 and 1986. He was also International Secretary of the Colombian Liberal Party from 1989 to 1994. Over the course of 10 years, between 1979 and 1989, Villegas served in various capacities, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; General Secretary of the National Federation of Coffee Growers; Secretary of the Commission of Foreign Affairs; Secretary-General and Under-Secretary for Economic and Social Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and as Economic Counselor at the Embassy of Colombia in Paris. 

He has been awarded with the highest distinctions of the Colombian government and from the administrations of Spain, Italy, France, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru.