| Irene Vélez | |
| Office: | Cónsul General for Colombia in UK, former Minister of Mines and Energy |
| Term Start: | June 2024 --> and August 11, 2022 |
| Term End: | July 19, 2023 |
| President: | Gustavo Petro |
| Predecessor: | Diego Mesa Puyo |
| Successor: | Omar Andrés Camacho |
| Birth Name: | Irene Vélez Torres |
| Birth Date: | 2 August 1982 |
| Nationality: | Colombian |
| Party: | Soy Porque Somos |
| Alma Mater: | University of Copenhagen |
Irene Vélez Torres (born August 2, 1982) is a Colombian philosopher and doctor in political geography. Since June 2024 she is the Colombian Cónsul General and Head of Mission in London, UK.[1] From August 11, 2022 to July 19, 2023, she held the position of Minister of Mines and Energy.[2]
Irene Vélez is the daughter of Hildebrando Vélez, an environmentalist and educator recognized for his activism in the Black Communities Process through which he became very close to Francia Márquez.[3] Vélez Torres studied philosophy at the National University, with a master's degree in cultural studies at the same university. She completed a doctorate in political geography at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and has written on natural resource issues and environmental conflicts in Colombia[4] [5]
Vélez served as an environmental social leader against mining in Colombia, leading research related to the environmental impact of illegal mining on communities and energy transition models, and serving as a professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Valle.[3]
In 2022, her name was suggested for Minister of Science and Technology in the government of Gustavo Petro, since she had been appointed as part of the joint team in that area by the previous government. On August 6, 2022, President-elect Gustavo Petro instead appointed her Minister of Mines and Energy.[6]
Her appointment caused surprise due to Vélez's lack of expertise, her environmental activism, and lack of connection to the extractivist energy sectors such as oil and coal. However the Petro government proposed an acceleration of the energy transition to make the country less and less dependent on non-renewable extractive energy with an increase in clean renewables.[7]
After controversies, including two censure motions, she had to resign in June 2023, over a case of influence-peddling involving a migration officer who was pressured, allegedly, by Vélez to allow the departure of her son for Europe without complying with legal requirements.[8] A charge of influence peddling is pending in the Colombian courts, as of 2024, as is a legal challenge to her appointment to a Consular diplomatic post in London ahead of other qualified candidates.[9]
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