María Emma Mejía Vélez
María Emma Mejía Vélez | |
|---|---|
| Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations | |
| In office 18 February 2014 – 1 October 2018 | |
| President | Juan Manuel Santos Iván Duque |
| Preceded by | Néstor Osorio |
| Succeeded by | Guillermo Fernández |
| Secretary General of the UNASUR | |
| In office 9 May 2011 – 11 June 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Néstor Kirchner |
| Succeeded by | Alí Rodríguez Araque |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office July 1996 – 25 March 1998 | |
| President | Ernesto Samper |
| Preceded by | Rodrigo Pardo García-Peña |
| Succeeded by | Camilo Reyes Rodríguez |
| Minister of National Education | |
| In office July 1995 – July 1996 | |
| President | Ernesto Samper |
| Preceded by | Arturo Sarabia |
| Succeeded by | Olga Duque de Ospina |
| Colombia Ambassador to Spain | |
| In office May 1993 – May 1995 | |
| President | César Gaviria |
| Preceded by | Ernesto Samper |
| Succeeded by | Humberto de la Calle |
| Executive Director at Barefoot Foundation | |
| In office 2003–2011 | |
| President | Shakira Mebarak |
| Succeeded by | Patricia Sierra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | María Emma Mejía Vélez 27 September 1953 Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia |
| Spouse | Alberto Casas |
| Children | Pedro Lucas Caballero |
| Residence | Bogotá |
María Emma Mejía Vélez (born 27 September 1953) is a Colombian politician, diplomat, and journalist. She was the Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in New York. She served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Education, Ambassador of Colombia to Spain, and member of the Foreign Affairs Advisory Commission of Colombia. Mejía Vélez was also a peace negotiator with FARC and ELN armed groups. For over a decade, she held the post of Executive Director to the Barefoot Foundation, a non-profit founded by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. Mejía Vélez also ran for vice-president and for mayor of Bogotá.