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María Ángela Holguín
OSC
María Ángela Holguín OSC
Minister of Foreign Affairs
	In office; 7 August 2010 – 7 August 2018
President	Juan Manuel Santos
Preceded by	Jaime Bermúdez
Succeeded by	Carlos Holmes Trujillo
25th Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations
	In office; 16 September 2004 – 11 September 2006
President	Álvaro Uribe
Preceded by	Alfonso Valdivieso Sarmiento
Succeeded by	Claudia Blum
Colombian Ambassador to Venezuela
	In office; 16 September 2002 – 20 August 2004
President	Álvaro Uribe
Preceded by	Germán Bula Escobar
Succeeded by	Enrique Vargas Ramírez
Personal details
Born	María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar; 13 November 1963 (age 60); Bogotá, Colombia
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse	Santiago Jiménez Mejía (m. 1983; div. 1990)
Domestic partner	Sergio Fajardo
Children	1
Alma mater	University of the Andes; Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies
Signature

María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar (born 13 November 1963) is a Colombian politician and diplomat who has been serving as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus since 2024.^[1]

Holguín served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. She has also served as the 25th Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, and as Ambassador of Colombia to Venezuela.

Early life and education

María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar was born on 13 November 1963 to Julio Holguín Umaña and Lucila Cuéllar Calderón.^[2] She is related to Carlos and Jorge Holguín Mallarino, briefly appointed as interim presidents of Colombia in the presidential periods of 1888–1892 and 1921–1922 respectively.

Holguín studied at the Gimnasio Femenino school in Bogota, and then studied French at the Université Paris X. She graduated from the University of the Andes in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in political science, and she also completed a specialization there in public management and administrative institutions in 1992.

Diplomatic career

In 2010, while Holguín was serving as Colombia's Representative to CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean in Buenos Aires, the then president-elect Juan Manuel Santos Calderón nominated her to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Holguín's nomination was hailed as a wise political move given the diplomatic problems in the region following the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis. Holguín's ambassadorship in Venezuela was overall seen as the tacit endorsement that enabled her to tackle the diplomatic détente between the sister nations, while her work with CAF signalled Santos' desire to strengthen ties with the rest of the continent.

Before having taken office, Holguín accompanied president-elect Santos on his first overseas trip after being elected, taking the diplomatic role head on during their meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.^[3] Holguín as Chancellor-designate also headed talks with Venezuelan Chancellor Nicolás Maduro that spearheaded the renewal of diplomatic ties with the neighbouring nation, which were later formalised in a meeting held in Santa Marta between the two Presidents.^[4] Holguín then travelled to Ecuador to meet with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño to convince Quito to renew diplomatic ties and to personally invite President Rafael Correa to attend the inauguration,^[5] a feat she managed even though Ecuador had an arrest warrant for Santos for his actions as Minister of National Defence of Colombia.

Other activities

Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2017)^[6]
Member, Inter-American Dialogue (since 2018)

Personal life

Holguín married Santiago Jiménez Mejía on 27 August 1983 but later divorced having no children. She later met Carlos Espinosa Pérez, with whom she had a son, Antonio, born 23 January 1991.

References

^ Secretary-General Appoints María Angela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia Personal Envoy on Cyprus United Nations, press release of 5 January 2024.
^ Restrepo Sáenz, José María; Rivas, Raimundo; Restrepo Posada, José (1995). Genealogías de Santa Fe de Bogotá [Genealogies of Santa Fe de Bogotá] (Genealogy book) (in Spanish). Vol. IV. Bogotá: Grupo de investigaciones Genealógicas José Maria Restrepo Sáenz. pp. 199–200. OCLC 28546996.
^ "María Ángela Holguín, La Canciller". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 25 July 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
^ Fraval, Germán Duque (15 July 2010). "Autorizó A Su Canciller Para Reunirse Con María Ángela Holguín Chávez 'Evalúa' Si Viene A Posesión" [Authorized his Chancellor to meet with María Ángela Holguín, Chávez "evaluates" if he will come to inauguration]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
^ Mena Erazo, Paúl (22 July 2010). "Correa acudirá a toma de posesión de Santos" [Correa will attend inauguration of Santos] (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
^ Board of Directors Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.

External links

Profile of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Germán Bula Escobar	Colombian Ambassador to Venezuela 2002–2004	Succeeded by Enrique Vargas Ramírez
Preceded by Alfonso Valdivieso Sarmiento	Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations 2004–2006	Succeeded by Claudia Blum
Political offices
Preceded by Jaime Bermúdez	Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia 2010–2018	Succeeded by Carlos Holmes Trujillo