Colombia’s former Attorney General, Eduardo Montealegre, will be appointed as the new Minister of Justice in President Gustavo Petro’s administration.
Montealegre, who confirmed that his appointment is currently being processed, will replace Ángela María Buitrago, whose resignation was requested by Petro several weeks ago. The new minister is expected to take office next week.
Ex-Attorney General Eduardo Montealegre will be Colombia’s new Justice Minister
Eduardo Montealegre Lynett, who spent several months advising the Petro administration on institutional reform projects in Colombia, will assume the role of Minister of Justice.
Montealegre joins the cabinet to replace Angela Maria Buitrago amid ongoing debate over his prior role as a government advisor and his public support for controversial initiatives, including the proposed decree-based popular referendum.
A law graduate from Universidad Externado with a specialization in criminal law from Germany, the incoming minister has had a long public career, having served as Deputy Inspector General (2005–2006) and Attorney General (2012–2016).
His appointment comes at a politically sensitive moment, as the government pushes forward with the referendum proposal and as the trial against former President Álvaro Uribe unfolds.
For some analysts in Colombia, Montealegre’s return to government signals President Petro’s willingness to confront both Congress and the judiciary in defense of his reform agenda and referendum initiative.
Eduardo Montealegre and his role in President Petro’s referendum
As a prominent jurist, Eduardo Montealegre has supported several initiatives of the Petro administration and was part of the team responsible for drafting the decrees aimed at convening the controversial popular referendum.
In an interview with local outlet El Espectador a month ago, Montealegre defended this position, arguing that “the [referendum] process in Congress was unconstitutional and therefore the president could override that congressional action and call it by decree.”
He maintains that the Senate’s handling of the referendum proposal—ultimately rejected—was marred by constitutional flaws, asserting that “it should be understood that Congress did not rule, enabling the president to call it by decree.”
Montealegre also revealed that he had been summoned by the Presidency to meet with President Petro regarding the decree-based referendum, a meeting he agreed to attend.
This places the incoming minister in a central role as the administration’s chief legal defender of the referendum initiative.
Opposition denounces violation of separation of powers
Montealegre’s appointment comes amid intense political polarization in Colombia. The opposition accuses the government of undermining the separation of powers by disregarding Congress’s rejection of the referendum proposal and ignoring judicial rulings that bar a presidential decree-based referendum.
Just this week, eight political parties issued a joint statement condemning President Petro’s push for the decree-based referendum—already rejected by Congress—as a “coup d’état.”
According to these groups, the measure constitutes “a unilateral and unconstitutional action,” and they called on Colombia’s highest institutions to intervene. Congressional President Efrain Cepeda, a prominent government critic, extended the appeal to international bodies such as the United Nations, warning of a potential breach of constitutional order.
The opposition contends that if Petro’s proposal moves forward, it “would represent a serious, open, and direct violation of the Constitution—a rupture in the separation of powers.”