Juan Fernando Cristo | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2024 | |
Minister of Interior | |
In office 3 July 2024 –10 February 2025 | |
President | Gustavo Petro |
Preceded by | Luis Fernando Velasco |
Succeeded by | Armando Benedetti |
In office 7 August 2014 –25 May 2017 | |
President | Juan Manuel Santos |
Preceded by | Aurelio Iragorri |
Succeeded by | Guillermo Rivera |
Senator of Colombia | |
In office 20 July 1998 –20 July 2014 | |
President of the Senate | |
In office 20 July 2013 –20 July 2014 | |
Preceded by | Roy Barreras |
Succeeded by | Jose David Name |
Personal details | |
Born | Juan Fernando Cristo Bustos 11 July 1964 Cúcuta,North Santander,Colombia |
Political party | Liberal Party |
Alma mater | University of the Andes |
Juan Fernando Cristo Bustos (born 11 July 1964) is a Colombian lawyer and politician. He served as a Colombian Senator from 1998 to 2014,and was Minister of the Interior under Juan Manuel Santos from 2014 to 2017. [1] In this capacity,he played a key role in negotiating and implementing the peace accords signed with FARC. [2] He was reappointed Minister of the Interior in 2024 by President Gustavo Petro.
Juan Fernando Cristo is the son of Colombian senator Jorge Cristo Sahium ,who was assassinated in 1997. [3] He studied law at the University of the Andes.
Starting in 1993,he served Colombia as a diplomat for several years. After his father's assassination,he ran for the Colombian Senate,an office he would go on to hold from 1998 to 2014. During his last year in office,he was president of the Senate.
From 2014 to 2017,he was the Minister of the Interior for the second government of Juan Manuel Santos. [4] During his tenure,he helped broker the Colombian government's peace accords with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). [2]
On May 25,2017,Cristo announced his candidacy for Colombian's presidency in the 2018 election. [5] However,he lost the Liberal Party candidacy to Humberto de la Calle,who subsequently lost the general election to right-wing candidate Iván Duque Márquez. [4]
He was appointed Minister of the Interior on July 3,2024 by President Gustavo Petro Urrego. During his tenure,he has called for an independent verification of the disputed 2024 Venezuelan presidential election. [6]