Álvaro José Cifuentes Ramírez

Promote and respect the fundamental freedom and natural right of families to educate their children in accordance with their convictions; uphold the dignity of teachers and promote their social recognition; and, as a result, enhance civic responsibility, humanism, transcendence, innovation, and high-quality education for students in our country.

Dr. Cifuentes is the author of the book Educational Law: A Legal Discipline and a Guarantee of the Freedom to Educate. He is a lawyer with a concentration in Political Law, a specialist in Public Law, and holds a Master's degree and a Ph.D. in Governance and Organizational Culture, with a doctoral dissertation on the Right to Education in Colombia and the improvement of educational quality and freedom of teaching in Colombia. He served as President of the Consortium for Children and Youth in Antioquia and as Principal of the Aspaen Alcázares Bilingual School in the same department.

He has also served as President of the Latin American Leadership Institute and of the International Research Network on Educational Law (RIIDE) in Colombia. He has served as Vice President of the Education Association – ADECOPRIA and is an international member of OIDEL, an international organization headquartered in Switzerland whose objective is to promote the Right to Education and Freedom of Teaching; an NGO that holds consultative status with the United Nations (Economic and Social Council), UNESCO, and the Council of Europe. He has also served as a member of Boards of Directors and Governing Councils of state-initiated and socially initiated educational institutions, as well as nonprofit organizations working on behalf of the most vulnerable population in our nation.

His personal, professional, and academic career has focused on education, educational law, the leadership of educational institutions, and the holistic development of children, adolescents, young people, and families. He has also taught Social Sciences and participated in mentoring and holistic development initiatives in educational and organizational settings.

As Vice Minister of Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education, he will guide his administration, through social dialogue with all education stakeholders, toward promoting educational freedom, respect for human dignity and fundamental freedoms, and educational regulations that strengthen trust among families, the State, and educational institutions.