He studied economics and business administration at the University of Kansas in the United States and earned postgraduate degrees in economics, economic law, and public administration at the London School of Economics and Harvard University. He served as head of the Colombian delegation to the International Coffee Organization (ICO) in London. He was the last presidential designate in Colombia and the first minister of foreign trade. He was also the minister of finance and public credit and minister of national defense. As minister of national defense, he led the implementation of the Democratic Security policy.
He worked in journalism as a columnist and deputy director of the El Tiempo newspaper. He received the King of Spain Award and was chair of the Inter American Press Association’s (IAPA’s) Freedom of Expression Committee.
