Germán Vargas Lleras

Germán Vargas Lleras studied at the Faculty of Jurisprudence at Rosario University, where he graduated as a lawyer. He also has a degree in Government and Public Administration from the Ortega y Gasset Institute of the Complutense University in Madrid, Spain.

On August 7, 2010, he was appointed Minister of the Interior and Justice. A year later, on August 11, 2011, after the division of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, he assumed the position of Minister of the Interior, where he remained until May 17, 2012, becoming Minister of Housing, Cities, and Territory.

In this Ministry until May 2013, he developed programs such as 100,000 free homes, and a Minimum Wage (aimed at families who earn between one and two minimum monthly salaries).

His campaign website states: “Our goal is for Colombia to assume the strategic leadership in the region, strengthen the Foreign Ministry, improve diplomatic career prospects and increase the number of career professionals. We will also work so that Colombians can travel to more countries without a visa and we will support our nationals abroad.

We will implement a migration policy based on three axes: first, control of the Venezuelan migratory phenomenon; second, compliance with labor standards for Venezuelan nationals settled in Colombia; and finally the development of public policy for the Colombian-Venezuelan population and its families.

We must strengthen links with the rest of Latin America and emerging markets on the basis of South-South policy with Africa and Asia; this will be one of the goals of our government, so we will look for new agreements with Central and South America that favor the mobility of human capital and raw materials. Likewise, we will promote the national infrastructure to improve international competitiveness. Additionally, we will review our Free Trade Agreements since 8 out of the current total of 14 produce a trade deficit for our country.”