Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced Sunday he will replace his post-conflict minister before the end of a 51-year-long armed conflict with FARC rebels.
The new post-conflict minister is Rafael Pardo, an experienced career politician who less than a month ago hoped to become mayor of Bogota, but lost the elections.
Pardo replaced former Police General Oscar Naranjo who resigned in June, reportedly unhappy with the lack of resources at his disposal and a lack of clarity about what his faculties were.
The new conflict minister is not new no the Santos administration; before resigning to run for mayor, Pardo was Housing Minister — one of the most important ministries during the president’s first term — when Santos embarked on a major social housing mission, constructing tens and thousands of free homes for the poor.
As conflict minister, Pardo will have to “articulate the joint-vision of the government regarding the post-conflict” phase following the eventual end of ongoing peace talks with the FARC, Colombia’s largest rebel group.
To what extent the new minister will be responsible for the execution for post-conflict policies in regards to the possible disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the FARC is unclear.
Pardo is a close ally of Santos and political adversary of former President Alvaro Uribe, who has opposed the peace talks since they began in 2012.
