Claudia Turbay Quintero

Claudia Turbay Quintero
Colombia Ambassador to Switzerland
In office 12 January 2010 – 26 March 2013
President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Preceded by	Claudia Jiménez Jaramillo
Succeeded by	Beatriz Londoño Soto
Colombia Ambassador to Uruguay
In office 8 November 2002 – 12 January 2010
President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Preceded by	Arturo Sarabia Better
Succeeded by	María Clara Isaza Merchán
Permanent Representative of Colombia to the Latin American Integration Association
In office 13 November 2002 – 25 November 2009
President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Preceded by	Arturo Sarabia Better
Succeeded by	María Clara Isaza Merchán
President of Proexport
In office 18 February 2002 – 8 August 2002
President	Andres Pastrana Arango
Preceded by	Angela María Orozco Gómez
Succeeded by	Luis Guillermo Plata Páez
Personal details
Born	(1952-06-27) 27 June 1952 Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Jaime Granja Leudo (divorced)
Relations	Julio César Turbay Ayala (father) Diana Turbay Quintero (sister) Julio César Turbay Quintero (brother)
Children	3
Alma mater	Fordham University (BA, 1980) New York University (MA, 1984)
Profession	Journalist

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Turbay and the second or maternal family name is Quintero.

Claudia Turbay Quintero (born 27 June 1952) is a Colombian journalist and diplomat. She has served as Ambassador of Colombia to Switzerland, with dual accreditation as Non-Resident Ambassador to Liechtenstein, Ambassador of Colombia to Uruguay with dual accreditation as Permanent Representative of Colombia to the Latin American Integration Association in Montevideo, and had over 27 years of experience working with Proexport, holding various positions including Commercial Director in the Miami offices, and Vice President, eventually being appointed President of the agency in 2002.

Career

She is a journalist from Fordham University with a Master of Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University.

Proexport

Turbay started working with Proexport, then called Proexpo, in 1974 in the New York City offices as a clerk in the business library; from there she became and adjunct member in New York City and was later appointed Commercial Director of the Miami office. She returned to Colombia in 1994 and worked for Proexport Advisor to the General Manager, Deputy General Manager, Vice President and eventually President of Proexport in 2002.

Ambassadorship 2002-2008

On 24 October 2002, Turbay was sworn in as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay with dual accreditation as Permanent Representative to the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) by President Álvaro Uribe Vélez in a ceremony that took place in the Palace of Nariño. She presented her credentials the following month to President of Uruguay Jorge Batlle Ibáñez at the Estévez Palace on 8 November, and to ALADI Secretary General Juan Francisco Rojas Penso on 24 November.

Ambassadorship 2010-present

Following the refused acceptance of two previous candidates, President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón submitted the candidacy of Turbay to the Swiss Government for their approval and after receiving the bene placito, Turbay was sworn in on 8 January 2009 by Chancellor Jaime Bermúdez Merizalde as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia to the Swiss Confederation with dual accreditation to the Principality of Liechtenstein in a ceremony that took place at the Palace of San Carlos. After arriving at her mission in Bern, Turbay presented her credentials to Swiss President Doris Leuthard in a ceremony at the Federal Palace of Switzerland on 2 January 2010, and later that year to Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein in ceremony at Vaduz Castle on 17 June. Ambassador of Colombia to Ghana and West Africa from August 2013 to present time.

Personal life

Born on 27 June 1952, she is the daughter of former President of Colombia Julio César Turbay Ayala and his first wife and former First Lady of Colombia Nydia Quintero Turbay. She is of Lebanese and Basque descent through both her parents. The third out of four children, her other siblings are Julio César, a politician and former Comptroller General of Colombia, Diana Consuelo, a journalist who was killed during a rescue operation following her kidnapping, and María Victoria, a lawyer and Vice President of Fundación Solidaridad por Colombia a nonprofit organization in Bogotá. She married Jaime Granja Leudo with whom she had one daughter, Claudia Alexandra, but later divorced. From her second marriage she had two children Laura and Santiago.