AUWCL Alumnus Ivan Duque LL.M.'04 Wins Colombian Presidential Election
June 20, 2018
On Sunday, Colombia elected a new president, Iván Duque Márquez, a 2004 graduate of American University Washington College of Law’s (AUWCL) LL.M. Program in International Legal Studies (ILSP). Duque’s wife, and now Colombian First Lady Maria Juliana Ruiz, is also graduate of the ILSP with a concentration in international business law in 2006.
Duque won 54 percent of the vote, defeating former Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro, who captured approximately 42 percent in the runoff election. Duque will succeed outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos. The 41-year old Duque will take office in August and will be Colombia’s youngest president in over a century.
Before running for office, Duque spent several years in Washington, D.C., including studying at AUWCL from 2003-2004. After graduating, Duque worked for the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations, and has served as a senator for Colombia’s Democratic Center Party.
“Mr. Duque joins a distinguished roster of AUWCL graduates who have acceded to the highest leadership positions in governmental administrations, international organizations, and key policy-making bodies in many countries around the world,” said Dean Camille Nelson.
“The election of Mr. Duque is testament to the high quality of international legal education students receive from the 36-year old International Legal Studies Program at AUWCL,” added Professor Padideh Ala'i, director of the International Legal Studies Program.
###