2023 -- S 1127
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LC003188
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S TATE OF RHODE IS L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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SEN A TE RES O LU TIO N
WELCOMING THE HONORABLE LUIS GILBERTO MURILLO-URRUTIA, COLOMBIAN
AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES, TO THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
Introduced By: Senators Cano, Acosta, Felag, Gu, Britto, LaMountain, F. Lombardi,
Lawson, Picard, and Lombardo
Date Introduced: June 15, 2023
Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration
1 WHEREAS, The Honorable Luis Gilberto Murillo is a man of extraordinary
2 accomplishments and vast experience, particularly in the areas of "public policy design,
3 implementation, and advocacy, sustainable regional development, environmental protection,
4 social inclusion, and peace building"; and
5 WHEREAS, Born in Chocó, Colombia, Ambassador Murillo’s educational background
6 includes a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering, and a Master’s degree in Engineering
7 Sciences; and
8 WHEREAS, Over the course of his illustrious career, Ambassador Murillo was elected as
9 Governor of Chocó in 1997 and 2011, served as Director General of the Corporation for
10 Sustainable Development of Chocó, was appointed by President Juan Manuel Santos as Director
11 of the Presidential Initiative Todos Somos Pazcífico in 2014, and between 2016 and 2018, served
12 as the first afrocolombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia. In
13 2022, he ran as a Presidential Candidate and later joined Sergio Fajardo’s Presidential campaign
14 as the Vice Presidential candidate; and
15 WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Ambassador Murillo has consistently worked and
16 advocated for the use of "restorative processes that leave ecosystems in apt conditions to follow a
17 process of natural regeneration"; and
18 WHEREAS, Academically, Ambassador Murillo has been a professor at Externado
19 University, Santo Tomas University, and the Technological University of Chocó. He was also a
1 Research Fellow at American University’s Center for Latin America and Latino Studies, was a
2 Martin Luther King Scholar at MIT, and was the first Colombian national to serve as Adviser to
3 the Environmental Solutions Initiate; and
4 WHEREAS, In 2000, Ambassador Murillo survived a political abduction by a
5 paramilitary group in Columbia and subsequently fled with his family to Washington, D.C.,
6 where he was granted political asylum; and
7 WHEREAS, In 2022, the Honorable Luis Gilberto Murillo was named as Colombia’s
8 first Black Ambassador to the United States; now, therefore be it
9 RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby welcomes
10 Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo-Urrutia to the Rhode Island State House. We furthermore
11 wish him good health, fulfillment, and much success as he works towards the betterment of his
12 country and the world community; and be it further
13 RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to
14 transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo-Urrutia.
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