Gabriel Betancourt Explained

Gabriel Betancourt
Birth Name:Gabriel Betancourt Mejía
Birth Date:27 April 1918
Birth Place:Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Death Place:Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Office:Minister of National Education
Term Start:August 7, 1966
Term End:September 2, 1968
Predecessor:Daniel Arango Jaramillo
Successor:Octavio Arizmendi Posada
President:Carlos Lleras Restrepo
Term Start2:August 26, 1955
Term End2:September 19, 1956
Predecessor2:Aurelio Caicedo Ayerbe
Successor2:Josefina Valencia Muñoz
President2:Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Occupation:Economist
Spouse:Yolanda Pulecio Vélez (1959-1980)
Children:Astrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt

Gabriel Betancourt Mejía (April 27, 1918, in Medellín – March 23, 2002, in Bogotá) was a Colombian economist and diplomat who served as Colombia's Minister of National Education in two occasions, and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.

Early life

Gabriel Betancourt was born in Medellín on April 27, 1918, to Pedro Nolasco Adriano Betancur Toro and Mariana Mejía Arango as the youngest of 9 children.

Betancourt was a member of the government of president Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. He later became assistant director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He was also head of the education commission of the Alliance for Progress in Washington, D.C., under John F. Kennedy.

Personal life

Gabriel Betancourt was the father of the politician and former FARC hostage Íngrid Betancourt. Gabriel Betancourt divorced his wife Yolanda Pulecio in 1980 and was granted custody of his daughters. Gabriel Betancourt died of heart and respiratory trouble a month after Íngrid's kidnapping, without seeing his daughter again.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Profile: Ingrid Betancourt . BBC News . 2008-02-28 . 2008-07-03.