Cesar Augusto Gaviria Trujillo (born 1947) entered politics at age 23, serving as a Liberal party representative and in various cabinet positions before being elected president of Colombia from 1990-1994. In 1994 he was elected secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Cesar Augusto Gaviria Trujillo was born in Pereira (which in 1966 became the capital city of the newly created Department of Risaralda, Colombia) on March 31, 1947. His father was a middle-class coffee grower, sometime journalist, and avowed free-thinker affiliated with the Liberal party. His mother, in contrast, came from a family closely identified with the Conservative party. Gaviria married Ana Milena Munoz, also a native of Pereira from a wealthy family. They had two children: Maria Paz and Simon.

An excellent student, Gaviria attended the prestigious, private University of Los Andes in Bogota where he majored in economics. After graduating first in his class in 1970 at age 23, he launched...