Colombia's Duque names Ecopetrol VP as mining, energy minister

Colombia's president-elect Iván Duque has named María Fernanda Suárez as mining and energy minister, the ninth appointee to his cabinet.

Suárez, currently the executive vice president of state oil company Ecopetrol, will replace Germán Arce on August 7, when Duque formally succeeds outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos.

"With [María Fernanda Suárez] we will promote greater diversification of the energy matrix, social and environmental responsibility, efficiency and competitiveness in the sector," Duque said on Twitter.

Suárez is credited with being instrumental in turning around Ecopetrol's fortunes after taking over as the company's strategy and finance head in 2015. Ecopetrol's net profit hit 6.6tn pesos (US$2.32bn) in 2017, its highest earnings in four years, as it recovered from a prolonged crude price downturn.

The 44-year-old has also held executive positions with private firms such as Citibank and Bank of America, and has served as a board member for Colombian energy companies ISA, Isagén and XM.

Duque, representing the conservative Centro Democrático party of former president Álvaro Uribe, beat leftist candidate Gustavo Pedro in a runoff election last month.

Other cabinet appointments already announced include Alberto Carrasquilla as finance minister, José Manuel Restrepo (trade minister), Carlos Holmes Trujillo (foreign minister), Juan Pablo Uribe (health minister), Andrés Valencia (agriculture minister), María Victoria Angulo (education minister), Jonathan Malagón (housing minister), Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez (interior minister) and Ricardo Lozano (environment minister).

Suarez's chief task will be to revitalize Colombia's stagnant oil and gas production and boost dwindling reserves. According to the energy ministry, the country's 1.8Bb of proven oil and gas resources will run out within six years.