Gabriel Velasco (politician)

Gabriel Jaime Velasco Ocampo (April 9, 1973, Tuluá, Colombia) is a Colombian lawyer, businessman and politician, former senator of the Republic of Colombia.

Gabriel Velasco
Senator of the Republic of Colombia
In office
July 20, 2018 – July 20, 2022
Personal details
Born
Gabriel Jaime Velasco Ocampo

(1973-04-09) April 9, 1973 (age 51)
Tuluá, Colombia
Political partyDemocratic Center
EducationUniversity of the Andes
ICESI University
Northwestern University
OccupationPolitician, lawyer, businessman

Biography

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He studied law at the Universidad de los Andes. He has a specialization in Business administration from Universidad ICESI, a diploma in Integral Logistics from SINTEC Mexico and "Reinventing Leadership" from the Kellogg Management School at North Western University in Chicago.[1]

He developed a long business career, mainly in the dairy industry, becoming commercial manager of Lácteos Andina, general manager of Prolav and vice president of Nutrition of Alquería (2004–2012), as well as vice president of Metrocali between 2013 and 2014.[2][3]

He was president of the National Association of Industrialists of Colombia, Valle del Cauca section.[1]

Political career

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In the 2018 legislative elections, he was elected on the senatorial list of the Democratic Center Party with 33,180 votes.[1] Although it had been widely speculated that he would be a candidate for the Chamber of Representatives for the Conservative Party, in the end this was not the case.[4] In the Senate, he is a member of the Seventh Commission.

Controversies

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He was involved in a controversy when he suggested to the Archbishop of Cali, Monsignor Dario de Jesus Monsalve, to leave his position in the Church, after he declared that the government of Ivan Duque "blames everything on drug trafficking to justify the massacres of the State'.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Gabriel Jaime Velasco Ocampo | Perfil congresista". Congreso Visible (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  2. ^ "hdv – SIGEP II – Función Pública". www.funcionpublica.gov.co. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  3. ^ Vacía, La Silla (6 March 2018). "Candidatos al Senado para todos los gustos". www.lasillavacia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  4. ^ Vacía, La Silla (22 February 2017). "¿De la Andi al Congreso?". www.lasillavacia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  5. ^ Tiempo, El (2020-08-25). "Tuit del Arzobispo de Cali por masacres desata choque con el uribismo". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-11.