Antanas Mockus

Antanas Mockus Šivickas
Mockus in 2012
791st and 794th Mayor of Bogotá
In office
1 January 2001 – 31 December 2003
Preceded byEnrique Peñalosa
Succeeded byLuis Eduardo Garzón
In office
1 January 1995 – 10 April 1997
Preceded byJaime Castro
Succeeded byPaul Bromberg
Rector of the National University of Colombia
In office
1990–1993
Preceded byDarío Valencia Restrepo
Succeeded byGuillermo Páramo Rocha
Personal details
Born
Aurelijus Rutenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas

(1952-03-25) 25 March 1952 (age 72)
Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
Colombian Green Party
Indigenous Social Alliance Movement
Yes Colombia
Visionarios con Antanas Mockus
SpouseAdriana Córdoba
Alma materNational University of Colombia
University of Burgundy
OccupationPolitician, Activist
ProfessionPhilosopher; Mathematician

Aurelijus Rūtenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈtanas ˈmokus]; born 25 March 1952) is a Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician. He has a master's degree in philosophy from the National University of Colombia, and a Honoris Causa PhD from the University of Paris.

He is the son of Lithuanian immigrants. He left office as the president of the National University of Colombia in Bogotá in 1993, and later that year ran a successful campaign for mayor. He proceeded to preside over Bogotá as mayor for two (non-consecutive) terms, during which he became known for springing surprising and humorous initiatives upon the city's inhabitants. These tended to involve grand gestures, including local artists or personal appearances by the mayor himself—taking a shower in a commercial about conserving water, or walking the streets dressed in spandex and a cape as Supercitizen. On 4 March 2010, he was elected in a public consultation as the Colombian Green Party candidate for the presidential election in 2010.

On 4 April 2010, Antanas Mockus chose Sergio Fajardo, former mayor of Medellín, as his vice-presidential running mate. On 9 April 2010 he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[1] He told La W radio: "The prediction is that this will not affect my mental activities. I think it is absolutely fitting to tell the people about the diagnosis and about the prognosis—which is 12 years or more of normal life thanks to medication."[2] Mockus finished second in the polling, leading to a runoff election with Juan Manuel Santos, which Santos won. Mockus resigned from the Green Party in June 2011 because he opposed its Bogotá mayoral candidate being supported by former right-wing President Álvaro Uribe.[3]

He became Senator of the Republic of Colombia in July 2018, after being the second candidate with the most votes in the legislative elections held on March 11, 2018. He is also the president of the Corporación Visionarios por Colombia (Corpovisionarios), center of thought and non-profit action that investigates, advises, designs and implements actions to achieve voluntary changes in collective behavior.

  1. ^ Bronstein, Hugh (9 April 2010). "Second-placed Colombian candidate has Parkinson's". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  2. ^ "Colombia candidate discloses Parkinson's diagnosis". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  3. ^ Tom Heyden (10 June 2011). "Mockus quits Green Party over Uribe support". Colombia Reports. Retrieved 13 June 2011.