The Government in Colombia

The new Colombian Constitution of 1991 declares the government of the Republic of Columbia as presidential representative democratic. The government has 3 branches – executive, legislative, and judicial. The President is the head of the state and of the government and elected every 4 years followed by the Vice-President and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia which are all under the Executive Branch. The National Congress of Colombia, comprising of the Senate and Chamber of Representatives in the national level, and department of assemblies in the provincial level represents the Legislative Branch. The Senate has 102 members elected though national voting while the lower house has 161 members. As the highest authority in the Judicial Branch, the Supreme Court of Justice also shares duties with the Council of State, Constitutional Court and the Superior Council of the Judicature. Colombia has 32 departments and one capital district. The 10 districts designated to cities in Colombia include Bogotá, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Cucuta, Tunja, Barranquilla, Popayan, Buenaventura, Turbo, and Cartagena. Every department has its own local government directed by a department governor.

Presently, the Columbian government is aggressively promoting its foreign relations by fighting trading of illegal drugs, terrorism, bettering its image in the international community. It has various diplomatic missions in almost all countries and multilateral affairs with Brussels, Geneva, Montevideo, Nairobi, New York, Paris, Rome and Washington DC.