Alfonso Gómez Méndez

Who is Alfonso Gómez Méndez?

Alfonso Gómez Méndez is the 9th Minister of Justice and Law of Colombia.

Alfonso was born on 19 August 1949 in Chaparral, Tolima. He attended Universidad Externado de Colombia where he graduated in Law in 1971.

On 9 March 1989, the Senate of Colombia elected Gómez to succeed Horacio Serpa Uribe as Inspector General of Colombia. Gómez, who at the time was serving as Chamber Representative, was nominated by President Virgilio Barco Vargas. On 23 November 1990 Gómez resigned citing political pressure; the Deputy Inspector, the Assistant Inspector, the Secretary General, and 23 Delegate Inspectors, all presented their resignation in solidarity with the Inspector General. The backlash from the Senate and others in military and right-wing political circles against Gómez and his department, stemmed from the ruling of the Office of the Inspector General against Army General Jesús Armando Arias Cabrales and Army Colonel Edilberto Sánchez Rubiano for their role during the 1985 Palace of Justice siege.

In January 1991, following his resignation as Inspector General, President César Gaviria Trujillo appointed Gómez Ambassador of Colombia to Austria.