Rodrigo Pardo García-Peña, the foreign minister and ambassador who left his diplomatic career to become one of Colombia's most respected journalists, died this Monday at the age of 65.
A brilliant analyst, he directed several of the most prestigious media outlets in the country and also left his mark on academia with pioneering studies in the field of foreign relations.
Politicians from different sides, officials, all types of journalistic organizations and countless public figures have mourned his death.
Sensible, serene and optimistic, even in times when polarization intensified, he was always highly appreciated in all the newsrooms he passed through.
No one remembers seeing him raise his voice.
“He earns the admiration of an entire generation of journalists, he earns the respect of those of us who saw him analyze the country, advise it, write about it and breathe it in lungfuls in marathons through its streets.
A farewell and all thanks to the unforgettable Rodrigo Pardo,” reacted Andrés Mompotes, the director of
El Tiempo
, in which Pardo served as general editor and deputy director.
Fidel Cano, the director of
El Espectador,
the other major national newspaper, which Pardo also directed in his day and in which he still published, lamented this “great loss” for Colombian journalism, which will no longer be able to count “on his calm voice.” , analytical and responsible.”
He was also director of Cambio
magazine
,
Noticias RCN
and editorial director of
Semana magazine.
An economist from the University of Los Andes with a master's degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins University, he worked with President Virgilio Barco (1986-1990) as an advisor on international issues, and in the 1990s he held various diplomatic positions until heading the Foreign Affairs portfolio in the Government of Ernesto Samper (1994-1998).
“Former Foreign Minister Pardo García-Peña made valuable contributions to Colombian foreign policy.
His professional career was linked to the work of this ministry, where he served as chancellor, vice minister of Foreign Affairs, ambassador of Colombia in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and in the French Republic.
From the academy he was one of the pioneers in the study of international relations,” the Foreign Ministry recalled when expressing its condolences.
Vice President Francia Márquez remembered him as “a distinguished diplomat who transcended political ideologies, an outstanding journalist who defended freedom of expression and an academic with a passion for knowledge.”
In 1998 he assumed the direction of
El Espectador
to never abandon journalism again, and in 2020 he resigned as editorial director of
Semana
in the midst of the business shakeup that blurred the traditional character of the publication.
“First of all, a tremendous journalist and analyst, not only because of his knowledge but because of his seriousness and poise.
A model of a truthful and responsible informant.
How we will need it,” senator and former peace negotiator Humberto de la Calle extolled him.
“As Chancellor, he exalted the name and role of Colombia, certainly in very difficult circumstances,” added De la Calle, who resigned as Samper's vice president amid the turbulence caused by the entry of drug money into that presidential campaign. the so-called process 8,000.
The mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, also dismissed Pardo as “an extraordinary human being and a great journalist: serious, responsible and fair-minded.”
An accomplished runner who completed 14 marathons, cancer affected his health in recent years, in which he nevertheless continued to publish political analyzes in
El Espectador
.
“Fortunately I forget that the tumor accompanies me everywhere.
I have a normal life and I have very little left over from the after-effects of the treatments.
Not even difficulties walking, just some discomfort in balance,” he said in an interview published by Bocas
magazine
in 2022, in which he admitted that he missed not being able to run.
“We are definitely not prepared for the only thing that we consider inevitable.
“We don't know how to die,” he pointed out in that conversation.
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