Back in May, Juan Manuel Santos left his post as Defense Minister of Colombia, in a move to legally preserve his right to run for the presidency in 2010. Since that time the head of the armed forces, General Freddy Padilla has been the wearing the interim MinDef hat.
El Tiempo reports a new MinDef has been named: Gabriel Silva Luján (Gobierno confirmó nombramiento de Gabriel Silva como Ministro de Defensa).
Es politólogo con concentración en economía de la Universidad de los Andes. También cursó estudios de postgrado en Economía y Relaciones Internacionales en el School of Advanced International Studies de Johns Hopkins University, en Washington D.C.
Silva’s educational background is political science with a foucs on economics and he did graduate study at SAIS. He has been ambassador to the United States and he has worked for the OAS regarding commercial and economic relations. He also worked in the administration of President Virgilio Barco (1986-1990). He is leaving his job as head of Federacafé (la Federación Nacional de Cafeteros/National Federation of Coffee Growers) to take the position.
