Colombian President-elect Juan Manuel Santos named former Manizales Mayor German Cardona as his transportation minister, Portafolio reported Wednesday.
Cardona, a two-term mayor from Manizales, also served as Colombia’s anti-corruption czar under outgoing President Alvaro Uribe’s first term, and played an active part in Santos’ election campaign.
According to Santos, “transport constitutes a support mechanism for national development and towards [Colombia’s] 2040 vision.”
During his campaign, Santos spoke of launching a 1,600 km, double-lane road construction project, and of continuing investment to modernize the country’s airports, strengthen its sea ports, and integrate them into regional hubs to improve Colombia’s internal transport logistics and infrastructure.
The naming of Cardona as Santos’ transportation minister comes one day after the president-elect named Juan Carlos Echeverry, an economic advisor to his campaign, as Colombia’s next finance minister.
Thus far, Santos’ future cabinet is composed of Cardona and Echeverry, in addition to Juan Carlos Mira, who was named as the presidency’s private secretary, and Juan Carlos Pinzon, who was named as the secretary general.
