2023 -- S 1127

========

LC003188

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

____________

S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O 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

     WHEREAS, The Honorable Luis Gilberto Murillo is a man of extraordinary

accomplishments and vast experience, particularly in the areas of "public policy design,

implementation, and advocacy, sustainable regional development, environmental protection,

social inclusion, and peace building"; and

     WHEREAS, Born in Chocó, Colombia, Ambassador Murillo’s educational background

includes a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering, and a Master’s degree in Engineering

Sciences; and

     WHEREAS, Over the course of his illustrious career, Ambassador Murillo was elected as

Governor of Chocó in 1997 and 2011, served as Director General of the Corporation for

Sustainable Development of Chocó, was appointed by President Juan Manuel Santos as Director

of the Presidential Initiative Todos Somos Pazcífico in 2014, and between 2016 and 2018, served

as the first afrocolombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia. In

2022, he ran as a Presidential Candidate and later joined Sergio Fajardo’s Presidential campaign

as the Vice Presidential candidate; and

     WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Ambassador Murillo has consistently worked and

advocated for the use of "restorative processes that leave ecosystems in apt conditions to follow a

process of natural regeneration"; and

     WHEREAS, Academically, Ambassador Murillo has been a professor at Externado

University, Santo Tomas University, and the Technological University of Chocó. He was also a

Research Fellow at American University’s Center for Latin America and Latino Studies, was a

Martin Luther King Scholar at MIT, and was the first Colombian national to serve as Adviser to

the Environmental Solutions Initiate; and

     WHEREAS, In 2000, Ambassador Murillo survived a political abduction by a

paramilitary group in Columbia and subsequently fled with his family to Washington, D.C.,

where he was granted political asylum; and

     WHEREAS, In 2022, the Honorable Luis Gilberto Murillo was named as Colombia’s

first Black Ambassador to the United States; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby welcomes

Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo-Urrutia to the Rhode Island State House. We furthermore

wish him good health, fulfillment, and much success as he works towards the betterment of his

country and the world community; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo-Urrutia.

========

LC003188

========

LC003188 - Page 2 of 2