Irene Vélez Torres

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vélez and the second or maternal family name is Torres.

Irene Vélez
Cónsul General for Colombia in UK, former Minister of Mines and Energy
In office
June 2024 --> and August 11, 2022 – July 19, 2023
PresidentGustavo Petro
Preceded byDiego Mesa Puyo
Succeeded byOmar Andrés Camacho
Personal details
Born
Irene Vélez Torres

(1982-08-02) August 2, 1982 (age 42)
Bogotá, Colombia
Political partySoy Porque Somos
Alma materUniversity of Copenhagen
Profession

Irene Vélez Torres (born August 2, 1982) is a Colombian philosopher and doctor in political geography. Since June 2024 she is the Colombian Cónsul General and Head of Mission in London, UK.[1] From August 11, 2022 to July 19, 2023, she held the position of Minister of Mines and Energy.[2]

Early life

Irene Vélez is the daughter of Hildebrando Vélez, an environmentalist and educator recognized for his activism in the Black Communities Process through which he became very close to Francia Márquez.[3] Vélez Torres studied philosophy at the National University, with a master's degree in cultural studies at the same university. She completed a doctorate in political geography at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and has written on natural resource issues and environmental conflicts in Colombia[4][5]

Vélez served as an environmental social leader against mining in Colombia, leading research related to the environmental impact of illegal mining on communities and energy transition models, and serving as a professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Valle.[3]

Minister of Mines and Energy

In 2022, her name was suggested for Minister of Science and Technology in the government of Gustavo Petro, since she had been appointed as part of the joint team in that area by the previous government. On August 6, 2022, President-elect Gustavo Petro instead appointed her Minister of Mines and Energy.[3][6]

Her appointment caused surprise due to Vélez's lack of expertise, her environmental activism, and lack of connection to the extractivist energy sectors such as oil and coal. However the Petro government proposed an acceleration of the energy transition to make the country less and less dependent on non-renewable extractive energy with an increase in clean renewables.[7]

After controversies, including two censure motions, she had to resign in June 2023, over a case of influence-peddling involving a migration officer who was pressured, allegedly, by Vélez to allow the departure of her son for Europe without complying with legal requirements.[8] A charge of influence peddling is pending in the Colombian courts, as of 2024, as is a legal challenge to her appointment to a Consular diplomatic post in London ahead of other qualified candidates.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Consul | Consulado de Colombia".
  2. ^ "¿Quién es Irene Vélez Torres, la próxima ministra de Minas?". El Espectador.
  3. ^ a b c "Ministra de Minas y Energía de Gustavo Petro". 2022.
  4. ^ La Silla Vacía (11 August 2022). "Con Irene Vélez, Petro refuerza su apuesta de cambio en el sector extractivo".
  5. ^ Pérez-Rincón, M., Peralta Ardila, M., Méndez, F. & Vélez-Torres, I., (2022) “Conflicto armado interno y ambiente en Colombia: análisis desde los conflictos ecológicos, 1960-2016”, Journal of Political Ecology 29(1), 672–703. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.2901
  6. ^ "Quién es Irene Vélez, la filósofa elegida para liderar el Ministerio de Minas y Energía". infobae (in European Spanish). 6 August 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "Seis nuevos ministros del gobierno Petro ya se posesionaron". Portafolio.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Fiscalía abrió indagación contra Irene Vélez por posible tráfico de influencias". infobae (in European Spanish). 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Demandan el nombramiento de Irene Vélez como Cónsul en Reino Unido - Diario la Libertad". 19 July 2024.


Wikiquote has quotations related to Irene Vélez Torres.
Political offices
Preceded by
Diego Mesa Puyo
 Minister of Mines and Energy
2022–2023 		Succeeded by
Order of precedence
Preceded by
Ángel Custodio Cabrera
as Former Minister of Labour 		Order of precedence of Colombia
as Former Cabinet Member 		Succeeded by
María Ximena Lombana
as Former Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism