On the diplomatic level, Colombia–Germany relations have existed since 1872 and thus for more than 140 years.
The German conquistador Ambrosius Ehinger died at Chinácota in Colombia in 1533.[1]
In 1889, Leo S. Kopp, a native of Offenbach, Germany, founded Sociedad Kopp's German Brewery, now known as Bavaria Brewery., the largest brewery in Colombia. In 1919, the German-Colombian Airline (Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transportes/SCADTA) was founded as the second oldest airline in the world still in existence. Its successor, Avianca, is today the largest Colombian airline.
During World War II, Colombia – after massive pressure from the US – was one of the last Latin American countries to declare war on Germany on 27 November 1943.[2] The declaration of war did not have military consequences, but it did allow for the confiscation of property from Germans.[3]
After the war, relations were initially resumed as trade relations. In early 1949, the Bank deutscher Länder and the Colombian Central Bank agreed that Colombia would deliver coffee (worth US$4 million), bananas (worth US$3 million), and tobacco (worth US$2 million), among other goods, to the Trizone from 1 July 1949, to 30 June 1950, and that this was to be settled with the delivery of German machinery and vehicles.[4]
According to the German Foreign Office, "friendly and increasingly close relations" have existed between the two countries for a long time.[5]
Bilateral trade volume in 2021 was 2.6 billion euros.[6] This makes Germany the fifth-largest trading partner for Colombia and the largest within the EU. A free trade agreement between Colombia and the EU has been in place since 2013.
See also: German Colombian. Famous German Colombians include: