Iván Duque served as the youngest elected President in Colombia’s history, taking office at the age of 41 in 2018. During his presidency, Duque led the fight to solve the social and economic problems derived from the COVID-19 pandemic. He also spearheaded environmental protection efforts, most notably in the Amazon.
Currently, Duque is a Leadership Council Member at Concordia, a Distinguished Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Oxford University, WRI, FIU – Adam Smith Center, Bezos Earth Fund, Cornell Emerging Markets Institute (EMI), and EI University. He also serves on the Jane Goodall Foundation Council for Hope, is an Ambassador for the World Coalition for Nature, and a member of the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) Steering Committee. His board memberships include Conservation International, the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), the McKinsey Sustainability Advisory Council, and the FIFA Foundation Advisory Board.
A recognised global expert in security affairs, migration, sustainability, conservation, green finance, and energy transition, Duque has consistently driven impactful initiatives. In 2022, he launched the Concordia Amazon Initiative, which unites leading minds to protect the Amazon rainforest. Additionally, he founded the I+D Foundation to foster young innovators from Colombia’s most remote regions.
In 2024, Duque is set to further his legacy with the launch of the Iván Duque Center for Prosperity and Freedom at the Wilson Center. This initiative aims to advance dialogues and policies that promote prosperity, freedom, and sustainable development on a hemispheric scale.
Duque received his Law Degree from Universidad Sergio Arboleda, where he majored in philosophy and humanities. He is an expert in economic affairs, with executive studies in Harvard, a Master in Public Policy and Public Management from Georgetown University and a Master in Economic Law from American University.
