Susana Muhamad
Muhamad in 2023
Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development
Assumed office
August 7, 2022
PresidentGustavo Petro
Preceded byCarlos Eduardo Correa
Councilor of Bogotá
In office
January 1, 2020  July 14, 2022
Secretary of Environment of Bogotá
In office
July 2, 2014  January 1, 2016
MayorGustavo Petro
Preceded byNéstor García Buitrago
Succeeded byFrancisco Cruz Roble
In office
June 27, 2012  July 13, 2013
MayorGustavo Petro
Preceded byMargarita Flórez Alonso
Succeeded byNéstor García Buitrago
Secretary General of Bogotá
In office
July 30, 2013  July 2, 2014
MayorGustavo Petro
Preceded byOrlando Rodríguez
Succeeded byMartha Lucía Zamora
Personal details
Born
María Susana Muhamad González

(1976-11-04) November 4, 1976
Bogota, D.C., Colombia
Political partyHumane Colombia
Alma materUniversity of The Andes
Stellenbosch University[1]
Profession

María Susana Muhamad González (born November 4, 1976) is a Colombian political scientist, environmentalist and politician belonging to the Colombia Humana party. Since August 7, 2022, she has held the position of Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of her country, in the government of Gustavo Petro. [2]

Muhamad is a nationally and internationally recognized environmentalist and her work focuses on developing actions that allow Colombia to consolidate as a world power of life, through compliance with international agreements on climate change and loss of biodiversity, the protection of environmental defenders, and the fight against deforestation in the Amazon region.[3]

Personal life

Muhamad is of Palestinian ancestry.[3] She was born in and hails from Bogotá.[4]

Muhamad has a degree in political science from the Universidad de los Andes, and a Master's in Management and Planning of Sustainable Development from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. She was a sustainable development consultant for Shell Global Solutions International in The Hague, the Netherlands and has supported through activism different environmental causes, as well as worked and collaborated with communities on the ground, non-governmental organizations and human rights movements.[4][5]

Political career

Muhamad was secretary of the environment and general secretary of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá. In 2019 she was elected city councilor, a position she held until the first semester of 2022.

In 2021, Muhamad was elected as vice president of the national coordination board of the Colombia Humana party, after this political movement officially received its legal status.

Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development

On July 5, during the transition from the Duque government to the Petro government, the elected President Gustavo Petro announced the appointment of Muhamad as Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development[6]

Muhamad stressed that the environmental sector has been marginalized in past administrations, in addition to its purpose to work hand in hand with communities for the preservation of the environment, as Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world.,[7] she has shown herself as a defender of the escazu agreements, within her agenda as environment minister in conjunction with the president and the congress of congress for the legislation and subsequent implementation of the agreements.[8]

Muhamad has been clear regarding her positions on three of the most important issues on her agenda as environment minister. One of them, which has also been one of the most questioned by the opposition, is fracking. The government seeks to eliminate fracking as a means of extracting oil, since this means of extraction creates irreparable damage to the environment as well as to the atmosphere and water reserves.[9]

Notes

    References

    1. "Perfil H.C. María Susana Muhamad". March 4, 2022.
    2. Vega, Lina María (August 5, 2022). "Carolina Corcho, Cecilia López y Susana Muhamad se suman al gabinete de Petro". wradio.com. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
    3. 1 2 "María Susana Muhamad González". minambiente.gov.co. June 24, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
    4. 1 2 "Susana Muhamad". lasillavacia.com. August 9, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
    5. "Presidente Petro, feliz con la ministra Susana Muhamad por reconocimiento que recibió por su trabajo en la COP27". semana.com. November 22, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
    6. "Susana Muhamad: este es el perfil de la nueva minAmbiente, designada por Gustavo Petro". semana.com. July 5, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
    7. "Las propuestas de Susana Muhamad, ante la crisis que vive "La Mojana"". confidencialcolombia.com. November 28, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
    8. "Aprobado Acuerdo de Escazú a 63 días de iniciar Gobierno del presidente Petro". minambiente.gov.co. October 10, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
    9. "Triunfo agridulce para el Gobierno: avanzó prohibición del fracking en el Congreso, pero con transición". semana.com. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
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