Patricia Eugenia Cárdenas Santa María

Patricia Eugenia Cárdenas Santa María (born 1958) is a Colombian diplomat, businesswoman and engineer. She is the current Ambassador of Colombia in México. She served as Ambassador of Colombia to Brazil, as Ambassador of Colombia to Japan and Non-Resident Ambassador to Singapore Australia and New Zealand. An industrial engineer, she was President of the Banking and Financial Institutions Association of Colombia from 2000 to 2006.

Background She is daughter of Jorge Cárdenas Gutierrez, former President of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, and Cecilia Santa María Botero. She married, and later divorced, Ricardo Sala Gaitán with whom she had three children: María Paula, Ana Daniela, and Juan Felipe.

Patricia Cárdenas is a qualified Industrial Engineer from University of Los Andes, Bogotá. She obtained a Diploma in Economic Development from the University of Oxford in June 1985.

Career From 1982 to 1984, Cárdenas was the Administrative Director of the Research Institute SER. She became Head of the Planning for the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit's Economic and Fiscal Analysis Office in 1985 and from 1989 Advisor to Minister, Ministry of Finance and Public Credit. Cárdenas presented her Letters of Credence to Emperor Akihito of Japan on 17 March 2007 at a ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, to Major General Michael Jeffery, Governor-General of Australia, on 31 May 2007 at Government House, Canberra, to Sellapan Ramanathan, President of Singapore, on 26 July 2007 at the Istana, and to Sir Anand Satyanand, Governor-General of New Zealand on 17 July 2007 at Government House, Wellington.

In 2008, Colombia reopened its embassy in Australia and named Diego Betancur Álvarez Ambassador of Colombia to Australia, formally taking the representation of Colombia to Australia and New Zealand from Ambassador Cárdenas who remained Ambassador to Japan and Singapore.

On 2014, after 7 years accredited as Colombian Ambassador of Colombia to Japan, President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón appointed Cárdenas Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia to the Federative Republic of Brazil. Cárdenas remained in this position from March 2014 to March 2016.

Cárdenas was appointed Ambassador of Colombia to Mexico in March 2016. Ambassador Cárdenas presented her Letters of Credence to President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto, on 12 May 2016.

Ambassador Cárdenas promoted the celebration of the Colombia-Mexico / Mexico-Colombia year, 2017-2018, with more than 200 activities in both countries.