Minister of the Interior (Colombia)

Minister of the Interior of Colombia
Incumbent Armando Benedetti since March 3, 2025
Council of Ministers Ministry of the Interior
Style	Mr. Minister (informal) The Honorable [1] (formal) His Excellency [2] (diplomatic)
Member of	Executive Branch Legislative Branch Administrative Department of the Nation
Reports to	President of Colombia
Seat	Bogota, D.C.
Appointer	President of Colombia with Senate advice and consent
Precursor	Secretary of the Interior
Formation	July 27, 1789;235 years ago (1789-07-27)
First holder	Diego Bautista Urbaneja as Secretary of the Interior
Succession	Line of succession
Salary	Executive Schedule, COP$735,507,531,586 (2012) [3] COP$342,642,573,034 (2013) [4] COP$486,111,102,438 (2014) [5]

The Minister of the Interior is a member of the executive branch of the government of Colombia and head of the Ministry of the Interior of Colombia. The incumbent is one of the highest-ranking members of the president's cabinet and will occupy the third position in the Colombian presidential line of succession within the Cabinet of Colombia. ^[6]

Created in 1782 with Diego Bautista Urbaneja as its first office holder, the Minister of the Interior is responsible for Colombian domestic policy, as well as the formulation and defense of human rights. is appointed by the President of Colombia and acts at his discretion, defending and negotiating with Congress the respective interests of the presidential administration. The Minister of the Interior, along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Defense, are generally considered the five most important cabinet members due to the importance of their respective ministries.

Role

The position of Minister of the Interior has had an evolution throughout history, since its creation, the position of Minister of the Interior has gained great importance, being the first among the 5 most important positions in the national cabinet.

Between 1905 and 1994, with the absence of the figure of the Vice President, the Minister of the Interior, also called the Minister of Government, was the one who replaced the functions of the Vice President, acting on many occasions as president in charge. Currently, the functions of president in charge fall to the Minister of the Interior, since the latter is the first in the order of origin of government ministers, it is he who acts as president in charge in the temporary absences of the president on official trips abroad or vacations, since the constitution prohibits the vice president from being president in charge, in the aforementioned situations.

References

1. "Protocol Reference". United States Department of State. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
2. "UNITED NATIONS HEADS OF STATE, Protocol and Liaison Service" (PDF). United Nations. January 29, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
3. Colombia, Congress of (December 14, 2011). "Ley 1485 de 2011" (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish) (48, 283). Bogotá: 16. ISSN   0122-2112. OCLC   500057889. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
4. Colombia, Congress of (December 10, 2012). "Ley 1593 de 2012" (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish) (48, 640). Bogotá: 17. ISSN   0122-2112. OCLC   500057889. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
5. Colombia, Congress of (December 11, 2013). "Ley 1687 de 2014" (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish) (49, 001). Bogotá: 6. ISSN   0122-2112. OCLC   500057889. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
6. "Minister of the Interior".