Ernesto Samper - Citizendia

37th President of the Republic of Colombia
Ernesto Samper
In office August 7, 1994 – August 7, 1998
Vice President	Humberto De la Calle (resigned), Carlos Lemos Simmonds
Preceded by	César Gaviria
Succeeded by	Andrés Pastrana
16th Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement
In office October 20, 1995 – August 7, 1998
Preceded by	César Gaviria
Succeeded by	Andrés Pastrana

Born	3 August 1950 (1950-08-03) (age 57) Bogotá
Nationality	Colombian
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Jacquin Strouss de Samper

Ernesto Samper Pizano (born August 3, 1950 in Bogotá) is a Colombian politician. This is a list of the persons that have been President of the Republic of Colombia and of the same territory under different names throughout history List of Presidents of Colombia The President of Colombia (Presidente de Colombia is the Head of state and Head of government of the Republic of Colombia Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Humberto De la Calle Lombana (born on July 14, 1946 in Manzanares, Caldas) is a Colombian Lawyer and Politician Carlos Apolinar Lemos Simmonds ( October 23, 1933 in Popayán, Cauca – July 30, 2003 in Bogotá, César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo (born March 31, 1947 in Pereira, Risaralda) is a Colombian politician and a Latin American statesman Andrés Pastrana Arango (born August 17, 1954) was the President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002 following in the footsteps of his father The Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM) is an International organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo (born March 31, 1947 in Pereira, Risaralda) is a Colombian politician and a Latin American statesman Andrés Pastrana Arango (born August 17, 1954) was the President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002 following in the footsteps of his father Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bogotá —officially named Bogotá DC (DC for " Distrito Capital " which means "Capital District" formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá The Colombian Liberal Party ( Spanish: Partido Liberal Colombiano PLC is a social liberal - social democratic party in Colombia. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bogotá —officially named Bogotá DC (DC for " Distrito Capital " which means "Capital District" formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. He served as the President of Colombia from 7 August 1994 to 7 August 1998, representing the Liberal Party. This is a list of the persons that have been President of the Republic of Colombia and of the same territory under different names throughout history Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Colombian Liberal Party ( Spanish: Partido Liberal Colombiano PLC is a social liberal - social democratic party in Colombia. He was involved in the so called 8000 process scandal, which takes its name from the folio number assigned to it by the chief prosecutor's office, which claims that money from the Cali Cartel was funeled into his presidential campaign in order to guarantee his success in what would have been a very close race to the finish after failing to win by a majority during the first round (Colombia has 2 rounds of elections, unless the first round yields a winner taking more than 50-percent the votes). 8000 Process (from the Spanish Proceso 8000) was the unofficial name of the legal investigation of the events surrounding the scandal regarding the partial financing with The Cali Cartel was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. Samper studied in the Gimnasio Moderno school and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. The Gimnasio Moderno is a private all-male traditional and liberal primary and secondary school located in Bogotá, Colombia. The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana is a private higher education institution founded in 1623 Additionally, he conducted graduate studies in Economics at Columbia University while living in New York City. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League.

1 Campaign Scandal
2 Ambassadorship Offer
3 References
4 Further reading

Campaign Scandal

In 1993, when the campaign for the presidency was in its early stages, it became increasingly clear that the race was going to be a close call, particularly between Samper and Andrés Pastrana, the candidate of the Colombian Conservative Party: opinion polls were sharply divided. Andrés Pastrana Arango (born August 17, 1954) was the President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002 following in the footsteps of his father The Colombian Conservative Party (Partido Conservador Colombiano is a conservative, Right wing / Center right, Colombian political party Elections for president took place on 29 May 1994. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Ernesto Samper was elected president by a very narrow margin. ^[1]

Shortly after his presidential victory, Samper was accused by his opponent and future successor, Andrés Pastrana, of having received campaign donations from the Cali cartel in excess of $6 million US dollars. The Cali Cartel was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Samper initially denied the allegations and deemed his political adversary as a sore loser, but soon afterwards a series of tape recordings were released to the public, the so called narco-cassettes. ^[2] The Chief Prosecutor at the time, Alfonso Valdivieso, personally led the investigation. Valdivieso was cousin of the late Luis Carlos Galán, a charismatic Liberal party presidential candidate assassinated by the Medellín Cartel in 1989 for his political views, particularly for favoring the extradition of mafiosos to the United States. Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento (born on September 29, 1943 in Bucaramanga, Santander – died on August 18, 1989 in The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of drug smugglers ( Drug cartel) originating in the city of Medellín in Colombia and operating Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Soon, the investigations led by Valdivieso unveiled a clear connection between the Cali drug cartel and top figures of Colombia's society, including politicians, journalists, athletes, army and police officers, and artists, among others.

Fernando Botero, who had been one of the campaign managers for Samper, was named Minister of Defense. Fernando Botero Zea, Colombian politician born in Mexico, son of famous painter Fernando Botero and who has served in several public positions in Colombia Horacio Serpa, another of Samper's political allies during campaigning, was named Minister of Interior. Horacio Serpa Uribe (born 3 January 1943 in Bucaramanga, Santander) is a Colombian Politician and Lawyer When news of the investigation were leaked to the press, both of these figures were personally appointed by Samper to face the media and aggressively disregard any notion of drug money entering the finances of the presidential campaign. The message was clear: if money from the Cali drug cartel found its way to the campaign's finances, Samper had no notion of this. During a press conference in which both men were discussing and disregarding key elements of the investigation, one of the journalists pointed out to them as to how they had obtained such document, for it was in essence a confidential document that only the prosecutor had the authority to release once the evidence was collected. A news conference or press conference is a Media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and most often ask questions Hesitant and nervous, Serpa alleged that it was given to them by an "anonymous source".

Eventually, after many months a great number of politicians and top members of the government were indicted, only scape goats were convicted. Botero was arrested in connection to the investigation and charges were brought up against him for conspiracy to illicitly gain wealth. Santiago Medina, the campaign's treasurer at the time was also arrested and sentenced to prison in connection with the investigation. A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of Other political figures such as Alberto Santofimio Botero, Eduardo Mestre, journalist Alberto "el loco" Giraldo, were also imprisoned under the same investigation. Giraldo was the person speaking on behalf of the Cali cartel in many of the recordings (narco-cassettes). Charges were also brought against Samper who by the time still insisted on his innocence and claimed that if money had entered the presidential campaign, it had done so "behind his back".

Pedro Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz, a spiritual leader within Colombia's Catholic Church, expressed in an interview to several media that not knowing that drug money financed part of the presidential campaign was similar to not noticing an elephant entering one's living room. Pedro Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz (born September 13, 1932) is a Cardinal and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bogotá in the Roman Catholic Church Spiritual leader is a form of Title that is used to refer to religious leaders. ^[3]^[4] Ever since then, the events that led to drug money financing "Samper for President" campaign have been referred to as "The Elephant".

As outlined by the Colombian Constitution, only Congress can serve as the President's natural judge. The Political Constitution of Colombia, promulgated in 1991 and better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia The Congress of the Republic of Colombia (Congreso de la República de Colombia is the name given to Colombia 's Bicameral national Legislature. So, once the Prosecutor General presented the case and delivered the evidence to the Congress, it was in the hands of the latter to evaluate the evidence and determine if Samper was also directly involved in this scandal. Congress is a political institution and at the time the majority of its members were political allies of Samper, many of whom had also been implicated in dealings with the Cali Cartel. The Cali Cartel was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. It was no surprise that despite the evidence against Samper the case was precluded, that is neither guilty or innocent.

As a consequence of this political turmoil, the U.S. government withdrew any political assistance to Samper's government. The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. For consecutive years, Samper's administration was lambasted by the US for its supposed failure to make every effort to effectively fight the war against cocaine and the Cali Cartel. Additionally, the US revoked Samper's visa and thereby effectively banned him from entering the country.

For a detailed timeline of the events regarding this investigation, see Procedure 8.000. 8000 Process (from the Spanish Proceso 8000) was the unofficial name of the legal investigation of the events surrounding the scandal regarding the partial financing with

Ambassadorship Offer

In July 2006, President Álvaro Uribe offered Samper Colombia's ambassadorship to France. July 2006 was a month with thirty-one days The following events also occurred during the month Álvaro Uribe Vélez ('alβ̞aɾo u'ɾiβ̞e 'β̞eles born July 4 1952 in Medellín) is a Colombian politician and lawyer who is currently the 39th President This led to the resignation of former President and Colombian ambassador to the U. S. , Andrés Pastrana, who criticized the decision. Andrés Pastrana Arango (born August 17, 1954) was the President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002 following in the footsteps of his father Opposition was also expressed by the media, political groups and other parts of Colombian society. In the end, Samper did not accept the offer.

Preceded by César Gaviria	President of Colombia 1994–1998	Succeeded by Andrés Pastrana
Preceded by Suharto	Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement 1995–1998	Succeeded by Andrés Pastrana

Contents

Campaign Scandal

Ambassadorship Offer

References

Further reading