José Manuel Restrepo

José Manuel Restrepo Abondano (born 31 August 1970) is a Colombian academic, economist, journalist and politician who is the vice president of Colombia since 2026. He also served as the Minister of Finance and Public Credit and Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in the Iván Duque government.

He graduated from the Del Rosario University in Bogotá in 1994, and completed a master's degree in economics from the London School of Economics in 1998. He completed a Postgraduate Degree in Finance and Executive Management from the Rosario University in 2004, and a DBA in Higher Education Management from the University of Bath in England in 2015.

Professional career Restrepo started his career working as an advisor to the Economic Commission (committee) of the Congress of the Republic of Colombia. He continued his career in the civil service, becoming Budget and Financial Planning Director of Fonade, the National Fund for Development Projects in Colombia.

From 2009 to 2014, Restrepo was the rector of Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración (CESA) in Bogotá.

For ten years he wrote a weekly column for the Bogotá-based newspaper El Nuevo Siglo, and in 2013 became a weekly columnist for Colombia's oldest newspaper El Espectador. His last column was published on 21 July, one week after the announcement of his ministerial appointment.

Political career In an interview in May 2018 Restrepo talked about becoming politically engaged at university stating that, along with a group of fellow students, he launched a civic movement called "Political Civic Movement, New People". President Duque described Restrepo as "one of the most illustrious Colombians of our generation ... who will make history in office". Restrepo formally took office on 7 August 2018, following President Duque's inauguration.

He was appointed as Colombia's Minister of Finance and Public Credit on May 3, 2021. He remained in office until August 7, 2022, concluding his term when the Duque administration transitioned power to incoming President Gustavo Petro.

He opposed a 23.7% increase in the minimum wage decreed by President Gustavo Petro in 2025, arguing that the president bypassed standard technical criteria and ignored productivity and inflation benchmarks stipulated by law, and petitioned the Council of State to overturn it. In February 2026, the Council of State provisionally suspended the decree, citing a lack of verifiable legal and economic justification.