The Colombian presidential line of succession is the order which the vice president and other members of the Colombian national Government assume the powers and duties of the Colombian presidency (or the office itself, in the instance of succession by the vice president) upon an elected president's death in office, resignation, removal from office upon impeachment conviction or incapacity.
The order of succession specifies that the position passes to the vice president. If the vice presidency is simultaneously vacant, or if the vice president is also incapacitated, the powers and duties of the presidency pass to the cabinet ministers, according to their respective order of precedence.[1] [2]
The Constitution of Colombia establishes that the Vice President is the first person in the presidential line of succession. In the absence of both the president and the vice president, article 203[3] in the Constitution establishes that the presidential office will be assumed by a Cabinet member, in order of precedence that establishes the law. The assuming Minister must be a member of the same party or movement to which the original president belonged, who will exercise the presidency within thirty days following the presidential vacancy in which Congress elects a new vice president who will assume the presidency.[4] In the table, the absence of a number in the first column indicates that the holder is not eligible.[5] [6]
Three vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency during the period, two due to the resignation and one of them due to the deposition of the president in office.
| Successor | Party | President | Reason | Date of succession | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Rafael Núñez | Resignation[8] | , days into Núñez's presidency. | |||
| Conservative | Manuel Antonio Sanclemente | Coup d'état | , into Sanclemente's presidency. | |||
| Conservative | Rafael Reyes | Resignation | , into Reyes's presidency. | |||
Although four vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency after the death or resignation of the president, between 1905 and 1994, the office of vice president was abolished, later being established in 1994 with the 1991 constitution, during the 86 years of abolition of the vice presidency, it was the Minister of Government who headed the line of presidential succession.
| Successor | Party | President | Reason | Date of succession | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Marco Fidel Suárez | Resignation | , into Suárez's presidency. | |||
| Military rule | Laureano Gómez | Coup d'état | , into Gómez's presidency. | |||
Since 1991 there have been two cases in which the vice presidency became vacant; During those terms, the next people in line to serve as acting president were:
| No. | Official (party) | Dates | Reason | President (party) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horacio Serpa (L) Minister of the Interior | nowrap | Resignation of Vice president Humberto De la Calle | Samper (L) | ||||
| 2 | Guillermo Zuluaga (U) Minister of Agriculture | nowrap | Resignation of Vice president German Vargas Lleras | Santos (U) | ||||
| No. | Official (party) | Dates | Reason | President (party) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | José Domingo Ospina (C) Minister of Government | nowrap | Resignation of Vice president Eliseo Payán | Núñez (N) | |||
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