Horacio Serpa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Horacio Serpa Uribe
Serpa campaigning in 2006
Senator of Colombia
In office 20 July 2014 (2014-07-20) – 20 July 2018
In office 1985–1988
Governor of Santander
In office 1 January 2008 – 1 January 2012
Preceded by	Hugo Heliodoro Aguilar Naranjo
Succeeded by	Richard Alfonso Aguilar Villa
Permanent Representative of Colombia to the Organization of American States
In office 10 March 2003 – 24 September 2004
President	Álvaro Uribe
Preceded by	Humberto de la Calle Lombana
Succeeded by	Alvaro Tirado Mejía
1st Minister of the Interior
In office 1994–1997
President	Ernesto Samper
Preceded by	Fabio Villegas Ramírez
Succeeded by	Carlos Holmes Trujillo García
Co-President of the Constituent Assembly of Colombia
In office 5 February 1991 – 4 July 1991 Serving with Álvaro Gómez Hurtado and Antonio Navarro Wolff
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Inspector General of Colombia
In office 1988–1989
President	Virgilio Barco Vargas
Succeeded by	Alfonso Gómez Méndez
Minister of Government
In office 1990–1990
President	Virgilio Barco Vargas
Preceded by	Carlos A Lemos Simmonds
Succeeded by	Julio César Sánchez García
Member of the Colombian Chamber of Representatives
In office 1974–1985
Preceded by	Rogelio Ayala
Constituency	Santander
Personal details
Born	Horacio Serpa Uribe 4 January 1943 Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia
Died	31 October 2020(2020-10-31) (aged 77) Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Rosa Moncada Ruiz(1974—present)
Children	Sandra Serpa Moncada Rosa Serpa Moncada Horacio Serpa Moncada
Alma mater	University of Atlantico
Profession	Lawyer, politician

Horacio Serpa Uribe (born 4 January 1943 – died 31 October 2020) was an important Colombian lawyer and politician. He served as a Senator and held many other high-ranking positions. Serpa ran for President three times, in 1998, 2002, and 2006, as the candidate for the Colombian Liberal Party.

He also worked as a congressman for the Santander region. Other roles included Inspector General of Colombia, president of the National Constituent Assembly, and Minister of the Interior. He was also Colombia's Ambassador to the Organization of American States. In 2007, Serpa was elected Governor of the Santander Department.

Horacio Serpa's Political Journey

Horacio Serpa worked in all three parts of the Colombian government: judicial, legislative, and executive. After becoming a lawyer from the Universidad del Atlántico, he started his career as a judge in different towns in Santander. This included being a judge in Tona, San Vicente de Chucurí, and Barrancabermeja.

While working as a judge, Serpa became interested in politics. He joined the Liberal Revolutionary Movement (MRL) as a young member. This movement was started by Alfonso López Michelsen.

Early Political Roles

In 1970, Serpa became the Mayor of Barrancabermeja. Later, he was appointed the Secretary of Education for the Santander Department. He focused his political efforts in the Magdalena medio region.

In the legislative branch, Serpa served as a councilman for Barrancabermeja. He then became a member of the National Chamber of Representatives for Santander in 1974. He was re-elected in 1978 and 1982. During this time, he led a movement called the Authentic Liberal Leftist Front (FILA).

As a representative, Serpa became the President of the Accusations Commission. He also led the Congress of the Republic Plan Commission. In 1985, he was elected to the Senate.

National Government Roles

In 1998, Serpa was appointed Inspector General of Colombia. He also served as Minister of Government and Minister of Interior. He was a Presidential Peace Advisor during the presidencies of Virgilio Barco (1986–1990) and Ernesto Samper (1994–1998).

In 1991, Serpa was elected to the National Constituent Assembly. He helped create the Colombian Constitution of 1991. He shared the leadership of this assembly with Antonio Navarro Wolff and Álvaro Gómez Hurtado.

After the new constitution was made, Serpa continued to be a leader in the Liberal Party. He was considered a possible presidential candidate in 1998. From 1998 to 1999, he was the National Director of the Liberal Party. Later, during the government of Álvaro Uribe, Serpa became Colombia's ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS). He also ran for president in 2002 and 2006.

Working for Peace

Throughout his career, Horacio Serpa often helped the government resolve conflicts. He worked to solve issues between worker unions, social groups, and the government, especially in the Santander Department. He always believed in finding peaceful solutions through talks.

Peace Negotiations Efforts

During the government of Belisario Betancur, Serpa was asked to be a negotiator with the ELN guerrilla group. He was part of many peace commissions, but these talks did not lead to successful agreements.

Under President Virgilio Barco, Serpa, as Minister of Government, helped set up a plan for several armed groups to stop fighting. These groups included the EPL, the PRT, and the Quintín Lame Movement. In 1992, during César Gaviria's government, Serpa led more peace talks with the ELN guerrillas in Mexico, but these also failed.

During President Samper's time, Serpa tried to negotiate with the FARC guerrilla group. The FARC asked for a specific area in central Colombia to be demilitarized, but these talks were not successful. Serpa also traveled to Germany for more peace talks with the ELN, but these talks also failed.

Presidential Election Results

Horacio Serpa ran for President of Colombia three times. Here are his results:

1998 Election

• First round:

* Horacio Serpa U. (with María Emma Mejía as Vice President): 3,647,007 votes (34.64%) * Andrés Pastrana (with Gustavo Bell as Vice President): 3,613,278 votes (34.32%)

• Second round:

* Andrés Pastrana: 6,086,507 votes (50.39%) * Horacio Serpa: 5,620,719 votes (46.53%)

2002 Election

• Álvaro Uribe (with Francisco Santos Calderón as Vice President): 5,862,655 votes (53.048%)
• Horacio Serpa (with José Gregorio Hernández Galindo as Vice President): 3,514,779 votes (31.803%)

In this election, Álvaro Uribe won by more than half the votes, so a second election was not needed. After this, Serpa said he would not run for president again. However, he later changed his mind. In 2005, he became the vice-president of the Socialist International.

2006 Election

On 12 March 2006, Serpa was chosen as the presidential candidate for the Colombian Liberal Party.

• Álvaro Uribe (with Francisco Santos as Vice President): 7,397,835 votes (62.35%)
• Carlos Gaviria (with Patricia Lara as Vice President): 2,613,157 votes (22.02%)
• Horacio Serpa (with Luis Iván Marulanda Gómez as Vice President): 1,404,235 votes (11.83%)

Governor of Santander

On 28 October 2007, Horacio Serpa was elected Governor of the Department of Santander. He won this position in the regional elections. He started his term as Governor on 1 January 2008.

See also

In Spanish: Horacio Serpa para niños

• Ernesto Samper
• Cali Cartel