For Immediate Release

Contact: Ryan McKenna

Phone: (202) 691-4217

ryan.mckenna@wilsoncenter.org

WASHINGTON— The Wilson Center has announced that His Excellency, Iván Duque Márquez, President of Colombia (2018-2022), will join the Center as a Distinguished Fellow. The announcement comes on the heels of a visit to Colombia by Wilson Center President and CEO, Ambassador Mark Green, and members of the Center’s Board of Trustees and Global Advisory Council. Duque will begin his term with Wilson in the early fall of 2022.

“President Duque impressed the world with his leadership on so many fronts – from defending democracy, to protecting biodiversity and dealing with climate change to responding compassionately to the millions of Venezuelans who fled tyranny to Colombia ,” said Ambassador Mark Green. “We are proud to welcome him to the Wilson Center and have the benefit of his ideas and experience.”

“The Woodrow Wilson Center is one of the world's most prestigious Think and Do tanks that has embraced the values of defending democracy and promoting sound policies to face migration and the climate crisis in different parts of the world,” said President Duque. “With the Woodrow Wilson Center team, led by Ambassador Mark Green, we will undertake initiatives that will help countries and private sector organizations face the climate crisis we live in, as well as the migration crisis that is putting millions of people in danger. It is a great honor for me to be part of this amazing team.”

President Duque’s work will have a global focus with special emphasis on broad areas:

• Responding to the world’s historic levels of displaced populations.
• Action on climate-related challenges and other key conservation issues.
• Advancing democratic values and economic opportunity.

“President Duque is an eminent policy and distinguished thought leader who has led his country through the pandemic and offered safe haven to millions of displaced people escaping the regime in Venezuela,” said Wilson Center Board Chair Governor Bill Haslam. “On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees we are proud to welcome him as a Distinguished Fellow.”

Notes to Editors

1. The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world.