Rodrigo Hernán Lloreda Caicedo

Rodrigo Hernán Lloreda Caicedo
Lloreda in 1985
Minister of National Defence
In office 7 August 1998 – 30 May 1999
President	Andrés Pastrana
Preceded by	Gilberto Echeverri Mejía
Succeeded by	Luis Fernando Remirez
22nd Colombia Ambassador to the United States
In office 15 January 1986 – 11 March 1986
President	Belisario Betancur
Preceded by	Álvaro Gómez Hurtado
Succeeded by	Francisco Posada de La Peña
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 7 August 1982 – 5 July 1984
President	Belisario Betancur
Preceded by	Carlos Lemos Simmonds
Succeeded by	Augusto Ramírez Ocampo
Minister of National Education
In office 7 August 1978 – 14 May 1980
President	Julio César Turbay
Preceded by	Rafael Rivas Posada
Succeeded by	Guillermo Angulo Gómez
51st Governor of Valle del Cauca
In office 16 September 1968 – 18 August 1970
Appointed by	Carlos Lleras Restrepo
Preceded by	Libardo lozano Guerrero
Succeeded by	Marino Réngifo Salcedo
Personal details
Born	Rodrigo Hernán Lloreda Caicedo (1942-09-02)2 September 1942 Cali, Cauca Valley, Colombia
Died	4 February 2000(2000-02-04) (aged 57) Cali, Cauca Valley, Colombia
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Aura Lucía Mera Becerra (1964-1971; divorce) María Eugenia Piedrahíta Plata (1974-2000; his death)
Children	Rodrigo Lloreda Mera Francisco José Lloreda Mera María Mercedes Lloreda Mera Aura Lucía Lloreda Mera María Eugenia Lloreda Piedrahíta
Alma mater	Pontifical Xavierian University (LLB, 1965)
Profession	Lawyer

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Lloreda and the second or maternal family name is Caicedo.

Rodrigo Hernán Lloreda Caicedo (2 September 1942 — 4 February 2000) was a Colombian lawyer and politician who was appointed to several senior positions under different presidents, with both domestic and foreign affairs responsibilities, beginning in 1968 as appointed governor of his department and briefly as ambassador to the United States. In his last post, Lloreda was the 17th Minister of National Defence, serving under President Andrés Pastrana Arango from 1998 to 1999.

Early life and education

Born on 2 September 1942 in Santiago de Cali, Valle del Cauca, Rodrigo Hernán was the youngest of three children of Álvaro Lloreda Caicedo, a wealthy Colombian industrialist and politician, who in 1949 founded the newspaper El Pais (Cali), which he directed for 25 years. His mother was Mercedes Caicedo Ortiz, from Costa Rica.^[1]

His family's political and economic status meant that Lloreda received a privileged education. After attending the Colegio Berchmans in Cali, he completed most of his primary and secondary studies abroad, first in Switzerland at the École nouvelle de la Suisse romande; then in the United States at the Nyack School for Boys in Nyack, New York; and the Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, Maryland. He returned to Colombia after his graduation and was accepted to the Pontifical Xavierian University, where he graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Laws.^[1][2]

Career

Lloreda became active in the Conservative party, in which his family had held offices for two generations. In 1968 at the age of 26, he was appointed to a four-year term by the President of Colombia as the 51st Governor of Valle del Cauca, his home province.^[3] (Since 1991, governors have been elected by popular vote.)

He also served in other appointed positions: as the 22nd Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, Ambassador to the United States (1986),^[4] the 63rd Minister of National Education, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. In his last position, he was appointed as the 17th Minister of National Defence, serving under President Andrés Pastrana Arango from 1998 to 1999. Lloreda died of cancer in February 2000.

Marriage and family

Lloreda met Aura Lucía Mera Becerra while he was attending the Pontifical Xavierian University, and they married on 5 December 1964 in Bogotá.^[5] Together they had four children: twin boys, Rodrigo and Francisco José; María Mercedes, and Aura Lucía. The couple divorced in 1971.^[5]

On 12 October 1974 Lloreda married again, to the folk singer María Eugenia Piedrahíta Plata. They have a daughter, María Eugenia.^[5]

References

1. "El Superministro" [The Superminister]. Semana (in Spanish). 1983-09-12. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
2. Colombia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1983). Historia de la Cancillería de San Carlos [History of the San Carlos Chancellery] (in Spanish). Vol. 2. Bogotá: National Printing Office of Colombia. p. 239. LCCN 84170241. OCLC 11113042.
3. Barón Ortega, Julio (1999). El conservatismo colombiano, su historia y sus hombres [Colombian Conservatism, Its History and Men] (in Spanish). Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Tunja: Editorial Jotamar. p. 542. ISBN 9789589665329. LCCN 99521629. OCLC 42949602. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
4. "Diplomatic Representation for Republic of Colombia", US Department of State, 201o, accessed 22 April 2012
5. Who Was Who in America. Vol. 13. Marquis Who's Who. 2000. p. 172. ISBN 9780837902333. OCLC 145354870.