Ernesto Samper

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His Excellency Ernesto Samper
Samper in 2014
29th President of Colombia
In office 7 August 1994 (1994-08-07) – 7 August 1998 (1998-08-07)
Vice President	Humberto De la Calle (1994–1996) Carlos Lemos Simmonds (1996–1998)
Preceded by	César Gaviria
Succeeded by	Andrés Pastrana
4th Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations
In office 1 August 2014 (2014-08-01) – 31 January 2017 (2017-01-31)
Preceded by	Alí Rodríguez Araque
Succeeded by	Vacant
17th Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement
In office 18 October 1995 (1995-10-18) – 7 August 1998 (1998-08-07)
Preceded by	Suharto
Succeeded by	Andrés Pastrana
Colombia Ambassador to Spain
In office 1991 (1991)–1993 (1993)
President	César Gaviria
Preceded by	William Jaramillo
Succeeded by	María Emma Mejía
Minister of Economic Development
In office 7 August 1990 (1990-08-07) – 28 October 1991 (1991-10-28)
President	César Gaviria
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Jorge Ospina Sardi
Senator of Colombia
In office 20 July 1986 (1986-07-20) – 20 July 1990 (1990-07-20)
Personal details
Born	(1950-08-03) 3 August 1950 (age 73) Bogotá, Colombia
Political party	Liberal
Spouses	Silvia Arbeláez ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1975)​ Jacquin Strouss Lucena ​ ​ (m. 1979)​
Children	Andrés Samper Arbeláez Felipe Samper Strouss Miguel Samper Strouss
Alma mater	Pontifical Xavierian University (Lic, 1973) Columbia University (MA, 1979)
Profession	Economist

Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950)^[1] is a Colombian politician. Samper is a member of the influential Samper family. He served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).^[2]

He was involved in the 8000 process scandal, which takes its name from the folio number assigned to it by the chief prosecutor's office. The prosecutor charged that money from the Cali Cartel was funneled into Samper's presidential campaign to gain his success in what would have been a very close race after he failed to win by a majority during the first round (Colombia has 2 rounds of elections, unless the first round yields a majority winner). The Colombian Chamber of Representatives acquitted Samper by a vote of 111 to 43, concluding the process.