Gabriel Silva Luján


Gabriel Silva Luján is a Colombian diplomat and political scientist who served as the 33rd and 27th Ambassador of Colombia to the United States. He has also served as Minister of National Defence and as General Manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.

Background

Gabriel Silva Luján was born in Barranquilla on 5 October 1957. After completing his secondary education at the Colegio San Carlos and graduating with a degree in Political Science with a concentration in Economics from the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Silva travelled to the United States where he completed his graduate studies in Economics and International Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C. under a Ford Foundation fellowship grant.

Career

Silva was named Ambassador to the United States by the President-elect Juan Manuel Santos on 27 July 2010 during an official visit to lima, Peru during Santos's pre-inauguration international tour. His appointment was interpreted as a reiteration of Colombia's security concerns going forward: "I believe that the purpose of my appointment is a clear signal that security and defence issues in bilateral relations with the United States are still very important," Silva told reporters.

Works

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