Gustavo Petro assumed office as President of Colombia on August 7, 2022. The President has the power to nominate members of his Cabinet at his own discretion, in accordance with the Constitution of Colombia.
After the confirmation and ratification of the ruling coalition, along with the other Majority Parties in Congress, the presidents of the three respective Conservative, Liberal and U parties met to obtain cabinet representation through one, two or three departments' executives. The creation of the Cabinet was part of the transition of power after the 2022 Colombian presidential elections.
As a result of the political alliance between Petro and the majority parties, Néstor Osuna, Minister of Justice and Law, and Catalina Velasco, Minister of Housing, City, and Territory, were confirmed as political representatives of the Liberal Party. This came after Petro's rejection of other candidates proposed by the party as in their opinion, they did not meet the requirements for the post. The Liberals considered withdrawing from the government, but a meeting between the two ministers with parliamentarians and party president César Gaviria consolidated support.
The Minister of Transport Guillermo Reyes is the representation in the cabinet of the Conservative Party, as confirmed by Reyes himself in several interviews. For her part, the Minister of Information Technology and Communications, Sandra Urrutia, is the representation in the cabinet of the Party of the U, as confirmed by different media.
In addition to the 6 heads of executive departments and the 5 members attached to the Administrative Department of the presidency, there are eleven cabinet-level officials.
This page documents the confirmation process for cabinet candidates in the Gustavo Petro administration. They are listed according to the order of precedence of Colombia.
Elected officials President On 4 May 2022, it was announced that leftist leader Gustavo Petro had defeated incumbent Anti-Corruption candidate Rodolfo Hernandez in the 2022 presidential election. Gustavo Petro received 11,292,758 electoral votes compared to 10,04,656 electoral votes for Hernandez; more than 10 million was needed to win the presidency. He took office on 7 August 2022.
President of ColombiaPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceGustavo Petro(age ) Senator of Colombia (2006-2010) (2018-2022) Mayor of Bogotá (2012-2014) (2014-2015) Member of Chamber of Representatives (1991-1994) (1998-2006)
Vice President On March 13, 2022, after the result of the primaries, in which Márquez came out with the second highest vote behind Gustavo Petro, she would be announced on March 23 as Gustavo Petro's running mate.
Vice President of ColombiaPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceFrancia Márquez(age ) Environmental activist
Cabinet
Cabinet of President Gustavo PetroOfficeDesigneeOfficeDesigneeVice PresidentFrancia MárquezMinister of the InteriorArmando BenedettiMinister of Foreign AffairsRosa Yolanda VillavicencioMinister of Finance and Public CreditGermán ÁvilaMinister of Justice and LawNéstor OsunaMinister of National DefenceIván VelásquezMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jhenifer MojicaMinister of Health and Social ProtectionGuillermo JaramilloMinister of Labour Gloria RamírezMinister of Mines and EnergyAndrés CamachoMinister of Commerce, Industry and TourismGermán UmañaMinister of National EducationAurora VergaraMinister of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentSusana MuhamadMinister of Housing, City and TerritoryCatalina VelascoMinister of Information Technologies and CommunicationsMauricio LizcanoMinister of TransportWilliam CamargoMinister of CultureJuan David CorreaMinister of SportsAstrid RodríguezMinister of Science, Technology and InnovationYesenia OlayaMinister of Equality and EquityFrancia MárquezCabinet-level officialsOffice DesigneeOffice DesigneeChief of Staff of the PresidencyLaura SarabiaDirector of the DAPRCarlos Ramón GonzálezDirector of the DPNJorge Iván GonzálezDirector of the DAFPCésar Augusto ManriqueDirector of the DAPSCielo RusinqueDirector of the DNIManuel CasanovaDirector of the DANEPiedad Urduola
Nominated candidates for Cabinet positions The following cabinet positions are listed in order of their creation (also used as the basis for the Colombian presidential line of succession).
Minister of the Interior Alfonso Prada He was presented on April 6, 2022, as head of the debate for the presidential candidate for the Historic Pact, Gustavo Petro. Later he would be announced on June 20, as Minister of the Interior, assuming office on August 7, 2022.
Minister of the InteriorPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceAlfonso Prada(age ) Secretary General of the Presidency (2017-2018) Director of SENA (2014-2017) Member of Chamber of Representatives (2010-2014) Councilor of Bogotá (1998-2006)
Luis Fernando Velasco Among the changes made in the cabinet, Velasco was announced as the replacement of Alfonso Prada as Minister of the Interior on April 26, 2023, in an official press release.
Minister of the InteriorPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceLuis Fernando Velasco(age ) Counselor for the Regions of the Presidency (2022-2023) President of the Senate (2015-2016) Senator of Colombia (2006-2022) Member of the Chamber of Representatives (1998-2006)
Juan Fernando Cristo On July 3, 2024, Petro carried out his fourth change in the administration, announcing Juan Fernando Cristo as the new Minister of the Interior.
Minister of the InteriorPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceJuan Fernando Cristo(age ) Minister of the Interior (2014-2017) President of the Senate (2013-2014) Senator of Colombia (1998-2014)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Álvaro Leyva On July 25, 2022, Álvaro Leyva was announced as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had previously served as a peace negotiator with insurgent groups.
Minister of Foreign AffairsPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceÁlvaro Leyva(age ) Member of the Constituent Assembly (1991) Minister of Mines and Energy (1984-1985) Senator of Colombia (1982-1984) (1985-1990) Member of the Chamber of Representatives (1978-1982) Deputy of the Assembly of Cundinamarca (1976-1978) Councilor of Bogotá (1974-1976) Private Secretary of the Presidency (1970-1974)
Luis Gilberto Murillo In January 2024 due to a three-month suspension imposed by the Supreme Court of Justice on the Álvaro Leyva as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murillo would serve as Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Minister of Foreign AffairsPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceLuis Gilberto Murillo(age ) Colombian Ambassador to the United States (2022-2024) Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development (2016-2018) Governor of Chocó (1998-199)
Laura Sarabia On January 21, 2025, Laura Sarabia was announced as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Minister of Foreign AffairsPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceLaura Sarabia(age ) General Director of DAPRE (2024-2025) General Director of Social Prosperity (2023-2024) Chief of Staff of the Presidency (2022-2023)
Minister of Finance and Public Credit José Antonio Ocampo On July 25, 2022, the President-elect appointed several of his future Ministers, including José Antonio Ocampo, who had already served as Minister of Finance and Public Credit, during the administration of Ernesto Samper.
Minister of Finance and Public CreditPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReference José Antonio Ocampo(age ) Minister of Finance and Public Credit (1996-1997) United Nations Undersecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (2003-2007) United Nations Executive Secretary for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (1998-2003) Director of the National Planning Department (1994-1996) Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (1993-1994)
Ricardo Bonilla Among the changes made to the cabinet, Bonilla was announced as the replacement for José Antonio Ocampo as Minister of Finance and Public Credit on April 26, 2023, in an official press release.
Minister of Finance and Public CreditPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReference Ricardo Bonilla(age ) President of the Territorial Development Financial Bank (2022-2023) Secretary of Finance of Bogotá (2012-2015)
Diego Guevara Following the resignation of Ricardo Bonilla as Minister of Finance, Guevara was announced as his replacement, taking office on January 29, 2025.
Minister of Finance and Public CreditPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReference Diego Guevara(age ) Vice Minister General of Finance and Public Credit (2022-2024)
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cecilia López On July 25, 2022, the President-elect appointed Cecilia López, who had already served as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, during the administration of Ernesto Samper.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReference Cecilia López(age ) Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (1995-1997) Senator of Colombia (2006-2010) Director of FONADE (1997-1998) Minister of Environment (1995-1995)
Jhénifer Mojica Minister of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReference Jhénifer Mojica Lawyer Defensor of the Human Rights
Minister of Health and Social Protection Carolina Corcho Minister of Health and Social ProtectionPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceCarolina Corcho(age ) Doctor Psychiatrist Political scientist Professor
Guillermo Jaramillo Minister of Health and Social ProtectionPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceGuillermo Jaramillo(age ) Mayor of Ibagué (2016-2020) Secretary of Government of Bogotá (2013-2014) Secretary of Health of Bogotá (2012-2013) Senator of Colombia (2009-2010) Governor of Tolima (1986-1985) (2001-2004) Member of the Chamber of Representatives (1982-1986)
Minister of Information Technologies and Communications Sandra Urrutia Minister of Information Technologies and CommunicationsPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceSandra Urrutia) Specializing in Telecommunications
Mauricio Lizcano Minister of Information Technologies and CommunicationsPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceMauricio Lizcano(age ) Director of the DAPR (2022-2023) President of the Senate (2016-2017) Senator of Colombia (2010-2018) Member of the Chamber of Representatives (2006-2010)
Minister of Transport Guillermo Reyes Minister of TransportPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceGuillermo Reyes Deputy Minister of Justice (2006-2010) President of the National Electoral Council (2002-2006) Assistant Magistrate of the Constitutional Court (1992-2000)
William Camargo Minister of TransportPortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceWilliam Camargo President of the ANI (2022-2023) Director of the IDU (2013-2016)
Minister of Culture Patricia Ariza Minister of CulturePortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferencePatricia Ariza(age ) Plastic artist Poet Actress Playwright
Jorge Ignacio Zorro Minister of CulturePortraitNameDate of birthBackgroundReferenceJorge Ignacio Zorro(age ) Musician Teacher Conductor Politician
Nominated candidates for Cabinet-level positions Cabinet-level officials hold positions that are considered cabinet-level but are not heads of executive departments. The exact positions that are considered Cabinet-level vary with each president. In 2019 it was raised to seven positions at the cabinet level with the creation of the Chief of Staff being the most important position at the cabinet level and the third most important at the Government level.
Chief of Staff