Armando Samper Gnecco

Armando Samper Gnecco
Colombian Minister of Agriculture
In office
31 October 1969 – 7 August 1970
PresidentCarlos Lleras Restrepo
Preceded byEnrique Peñalosa Camargo
Succeeded byJavier Emilio Valderrama
In office
7 August 1966 – 26 July 1967
PresidentCarlos Lleras Restrepo
Preceded byJosé Mejía Salazar
Succeeded byEnrique Blair Fabris
Personal details
Born(1920-04-09)9 April 1920
Bogotá, Colombia
Died14 September 2010(2010-09-14) (aged 90)
Bogotá, Colombia
SpouseJean Kutschbach (1945–2010)
ChildrenMarta Samper Kutschbach
Belén Samper Kutschbach
Mario Samper Kutschbach
Cristián Samper Kutschbach
Alma materCornell University
ProfessionAgronomist

Armando Samper Gnecco (9 April 1920 – 14 September 2010)[1] was a Colombian agronomist and engineer. He served as Minister of Agriculture of Colombia in 1966-67 and 1969-70, and was a founding member of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, General Director of the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Sciences (now known as Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture) from 1960 to 1966, and Deputy General Director of FAO for Latin America from 1972 to 1974. Dean of Jorge Tadeo Lozano University (1971), President of the National Corporation for Forest Research and Development of Colombia, CONIF (1974–1978), and President of the Executive Board and General Director of the Colombian Sugarcane Research Center, Cenicaña (1978–1990).[2][3]

He finished his secondary studies at the Gimnasio Moderno in Bogotá then moved to the United States to attend University of Maryland, College Park. From there he transferred to Cornell University where he graduated in 1943 with a B.Sc. in Agricultural Economy.[1]

Personal life

Armando was born on 9 April 1920 in Bogotá to Daniel Samper Ortega and María Amalia Gnecco Fallón. He married on 26 July 1945 to Jean Kutschbach, whom he met during his studies in Cornell University, and with whom he had four children, Marta, Belén, Mario, and Cristián.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sintesis Biografica del Ingeniero Armando Samper Gnecco" [Biographic Synthesis of the Engineer Armando Samper Gnecco]. Medalla Agricola Interamericana 1970 [Inter-American Agronomy Medal 1970] (in Spanish). IICA Biblioteca Venezuela. p. 4.
  2. ^ "In Memoriam" (in Spanish). Colombian Sugarcane Research Center, Cenicaña. 2010-09-17. Archived from the original on 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
  3. ^ "Armando Samper Gnecco (1920-2010) CIAT grieves death of benefactor". International Center for Tropical Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-02.