Sergio Jaramillo Caro served as High Commissioner for Peace for Juan Manuel Santos, the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, between 2012 and 2017. As National Security Advisor (2010-2012), he led the secret negotiations with the country’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – FARC, which ended with the “General Agreement” of 26 August 2012 (a framework agreement).
He then served for five years as High Commissioner for Peace and, together with Humberto de la Calle, led the public phase of the negotiations in Havana. In 2016, the Colombian Congress approved the “Final Agreement” signed on 24 November by the Colombian government and FARC, ending one of the world’s longest running conflicts.
As Peace Commissioner Mr. Jaramillo also had to oversee the disarmament and process of FARC, which concluded in August of 2017 when the UN verification mission extracted the last container with weapons from a FARC cantonment area. Previously, Mr. Jaramillo served as Vice Minister of Defence for Policy and International Affairs (2006-2010), responsible for security policy, intelligence and human rights. In particular, he sought to establish a state presence in conflict-afflicted territories throughout Colombia.
He also served as chief advisor to the Minister of Defence (2002-2003), political advisor at the Embassy of Colombia in France (2001-2002) and advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of the Diplomacy for Peace Program (2000-2001).
His last official position was as ambassador to the EU and Belgium (2017-2018). In addition to his service in government, he was executive director of Ideas for the Peace Foundation – FIP in Bogotá (2003-2006). Between 2019 and 2024, he advised negotiations in various parts of the world (Afghanistan / Doha, Venezuela, confidential talks in Africa) with the European Institute of Peace in Brussels, among others.
Mr. Jaramillo is President of Fundación Acordemos in Bogotá, Colombia, and a member of the advisory board of the Negotiations Strategies Institute in East Jerusalem / Washington D.C. He also leads the campaign of Latin American solidarity with Ukraine ¡Aguanta Ucrania!.
Mr. Jaramillo studied philosophy and Greek at the University of Toronto and at Oxford University. He holds an M.Phil in philosophy from the University of Cambridge and did postgraduate work in Greek at the University of Heidelberg. He is fluent in Spanish, English, German and French and has working knowledge of Italian and Russian.