Andrés Uriel Gallego

Andrés Uriel Gallego Henao (born April 1, 1950 in Marinilla , Departamento de Antioquia ; † April 17, 2014 in Medellín , Departamento de Antioquia) was a Colombian civil engineer, university professor and politician of the Partido Liberal Colombiano (PLC), who served as Minister of Transport for eight years Colombia was.

Life

Gallego came from a humble background and grew up with twelve siblings. After attending school, he completed a degree in civil engineering at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and worked as a civil engineer after graduation. He later taught civil engineering himself as a lecturer at the Universidad de Medellín and at the Pontifical Bolivariana University (UPB) in Medellín.

After the election of Álvaro Uribe Vélez as governor of the Antioquia Department, Gallego was appointed Minister of Public Works ( Secretario de Obras Públicas ) of that department on January 2, 1995 and held this post until the end of Uribe's term on December 31 1997.

In 2000 he applied as a candidate of the Partido Liberal Colombiano (PLC) himself for the office of governor of Antioquia, but was defeated in the elections to the candidate of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo ( FARC-EP ), Guillermo Gaviria Correa .

After Álvaro Uribe Vélez was elected President of Colombia , Gallego was appointed by him on August 7, 2002 to succeed Gustavo Canal Mora as Minister of Transport in his cabinet and held this ministerial office until the end of Uribe's term of office on August 7, 2010. In this Function numerous construction projects were started, several of them in his home province of Antioquia. One of the best-known construction projects was the La Línea tunnel, completed in 2014, between the cities of Calarcá in Quindío and Cajamarca in Tolima . In addition, road construction measures were also carried out as part of the Plan Colombia and to restore the navigability of the Río Magdalena . He was succeeded as minister by Germán Cardona .

Gallego died of prostate cancer in the Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital in Medellín.

Web links

• LOS RETOS DEL NUEVO GABINETE . In: El Tiempo of August 7, 2002
• Familiares y amigos despiden al exministro Andrés Uriel Gallego . In: El Colombiano of April 17, 2014
• Andrés Uriel Gallego, un antioqueño de pura cepa . In: El Colombiano of April 17, 2014
• Murió Andrés Uriel Gallego en Medellín. El exministro de Transporte falleció después de una larga enfermedad . In: El Tiempo of April 17, 2014
• Murió el exministro Andrés Uriel Gallego. The exfuncionario falleció en Medellín víctima de un cáncer al que se enfrentó incluso desde su época de ministro . In: Semana of April 17, 2014