Government of Colombia
| File:Logo gobierno de Colombia (2022-2026).png Logo since 2022 | |
| Constitution | Colombian Constitution of 1991 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Colombia |
| Website | www |
| Executive | |
| Head of state | President of Colombia (Gustavo Petro) |
| Vice head of state | Vice President of Colombia (Francia Márquez) |
| Cabinet | Council of Ministers of Colombia |
| Legislative | |
| Legislature | Congress of Colombia |
| Meeting place | National Capitol of Colombia |
| Judicial | |
| Court | |
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The Government of Colombia is a unitary presidential republic with separation of powers into an executive, judicial, and legislative branch. The executive is led by the president, who acts as both the head of state and government, the judiciary includes four high courts which manage different fields of the law, and the national legislature is a bicameral congress composed of the senate and chamber of representatives.
The country is principally divided into 32 departments and one capital district.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Colombia a "flawed democracy" in 2024.[1][needs update]
Executive
[edit | edit source]President
[edit | edit source]The president of Colombia is elected by a direct popular vote, with elections held every four years. They are the head of state and government, as well as the commander-in-chief and supreme administrative authority.[2] In 2015, congress limited the presidency to a single four-year term, preventing the president from seeking re-election.[3]
For 150 years, excluding military dictatorships in the 1950s, the president came from either the Liberal Party or Conservative Party, with the country being a two-party system. But, every president following the 2002 election has come from a third party.[4]
Vice President
[edit | edit source]The Vice President is the second-highest executive office in Colombia. They are elected directly through appearing on a ticket with a presidential candidate. The office was reestablished by the constitution of 1991 after being abolished in 1905.[5]
Council of Ministers
[edit | edit source]The Council of Ministers is the national government cabinet of Colombia, it is composed of the most senior appointed politicians of the executive branch. In addition to the president and vice president, members are the heads of ministries and administrative departments. Its composition has changed throughout history, but the council currently includes 19 ministers[6] and 6 directors of administrative departments, all appointed by the president.[7]
Legislature
[edit | edit source]The legislative branch of Colombia's national government is the bicameral Congress, composed of the Senate and Chamber of Representatives. Its primary duties are lawmaking and legislative regulation, this includes drafting, enacting, interpreting, amending, and repealing laws.[2][8]
Senate
[edit | edit source]The Senate of Colombia is composed of 108 seats, with members elected to 4 year terms in direct elections through a party-list proportional representation system.[8] The senate has 7 permanent commissions and a board of directors.[9]
Chamber of Representatives
[edit | edit source]The Chamber of Representatives of Colombia is composed of 188 members elected to 4 year terms in direct elections through a party-list proportional representation system.[8] One seat is dedicated to representing the Raizal ethnic group, two seats are dedicated to the Indigenous peoples in Colombia, and one is dedicated to Colombians abroad.[10][9]
Judiciary
[edit | edit source]The judiciary of Colombia interprets and applies the laws of the country to ensure equal justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The judicial branch of Colombia's national government is composed of four high courts: the Supreme Court of Justice which takes on matters of criminal law, the Council of State which handles administrative law, the Constitutional Court dealing with constitutional law, and the Superior Council of Judicature which manages jurisdictional conflicts and judicial administration.[11][12] Colombia’s legal system follows civil law.[2]
Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia
[edit | edit source]The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia handles criminal law,[11] composed of 23 judges appointed to non-renewable 8 year terms by congress from a list of candidates.[8] Justices must be a lawyer who has served a minimum of 10 years in the judiciary, the public ministry, or at an established educational institution and be a natural-born Colombian citizen.[13] The court was created in 1886[14] and is led by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice. Below the Supreme Court are Judicial District Superior Tribunals and below them, district courts.[2] Prior to the 1991 constitution, it was the highest legal, civil, criminal and constitutional court in Colombia.[13]
Council of State
[edit | edit source]The Council of State handles administrative law.[11][13] It was established in 1817 by the first president of Colombia Simón Bolívar.[15]
Constitutional Court
[edit | edit source]The Constitutional Court handles constitutional law and international treaties.[11] It was established by the constitution of 1991,[16] which reorganized the country's high courts.[13]
Superior Council of Judicature
[edit | edit source]The Superior Council of Judicature handles jurisdictional conflicts and judicial administration; it is headed by a president.[11] The council is composed of two chambers: the administrative chamber and the disciplinary jurisdictional chamber, made up of 6 and 7 judges respectively.[17] It is also the job of the superior council to submit lists of potential justices for the Supreme Court of Justice.[13]
Special jurisdictions
[edit | edit source]Military tribunals handle infractions by police and active military personnel according to the Military Penal Code.[2] The National Electoral Council is a legal body which has final say on electoral issues. Due to the ongoing Colombian conflict, special legal jurisdictions (the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and Judicial Chambers for Justice and Peace) have been created to try individuals for crimes committed during the conflict.[2]
Subdivisions
[edit | edit source]Colombia is principally divided into 32 departments and one capital district.[2] There are four other cities (Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Marta, and Buenaventura) which also have district status due to their national importance but remain within a department.[18]
Departments
[edit | edit source]Each department has a governor and department assembly and are granted limited autonomy.[19] Departments are primarily composed of municipalities, of which there are 1123 in Colombia,[18] each with a mayor and municipal council. Each department has its own department capital.[19]
The most recent changes to departments were made in the 1991 constitution, which created the modern departments of Amazonas, Arauca, Casanare, Guainía, Guaviare, Putumayo, San Andrés y Providencia, Vapués, and Vichada that were previously a part of the "National Territory".[20]
Capital District
[edit | edit source]The capital city of Bogotá has the same administrative status as a department. It is governed by the Superior Mayor of Bogotá and Bogotá City Council. The council is the supreme authority of the district, autonomous in administrative, budgetary and financial matters.[21] While Bogotá is outside of Cundinamarca Department, it is the department's official capital.[19]
Indigenous territories
[edit | edit source]Indigenous territories or indigenous reserves in Colombia are the "constitutional form through which the state recognizes and formalizes the collective ownership of [indigenous] peoples’ ancestral territories"; there are 846 territories recognized by law.[22] The territories total 35,608,579.2 hectares or 31% of the nation as of 2023 according to the National Land Agency.[22]
According to the 2018 census, 64% of the 1.9 million indigenous people of Colombia lived within these territories.[22]
The National Indigenous Territories Commission (CNTI) was created in 1996 through Decree 1397 to ensure full territorial rights to the indigenous people. It is composed of 10 delegates representing indigenous organizations within the territories who consult with and relay issues to the national government.[23]
Elections and voting
[edit | edit source]Constitution
[edit | edit source]Foreign relations
[edit | edit source]Issues
[edit | edit source]Corruption
[edit | edit source]Trust
[edit | edit source]In 2022, 21% of Colombians reported their trust in the national government being high or moderately high, 22% reported high or moderately high trust in their local government, and 20% in civil service.[24]
Climate change
[edit | edit source]Colombia's government has been recognised as taking a determined approach to reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and contributing to a reversal in global climate change trends.[25]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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- ^ Linea de Tiempo (timeline) Archived 2016-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Council of State website
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- ^ Seabrook, V., The major coal producing country that wants to leave its fossil fuels in the ground, Sky News, published on 20 November 2024, accessed on 23 November 2025
External links
[edit | edit source]- Colombian Constitution of 1991 (translated in to English)
- Government of Colombia(in Spanish)