María Victoria Calle, a magistrate and two-time president of Colombia's Constitutional Court from 2009 to 2017, died on Sunday, December 21, in Medellín at age 82, having retired from her post seven years ago due to a cardiovascular accident.
The news of María Victoria Calle's death was announced by former Culture Minister Juan David Correa on the social network X. Correa highlighted her outstanding career as a magistrate and noted that her vote had prevented a third re-election linked to paramilitarism in Colombia. "She died in Medellín, María Victoria Calle Correa, two-time president of the Constitutional Court, from which she had to retire 7 years ago due to a stroke. Her vote stopped a third re-election of paramilitarism in Colombia. She was a great magistrate. Love to her family," Correa wrote.
President Gustavo Petro expressed his deep sorrow and admiration for Calle, describing her as a defender of democratic law and the social state of law. "How I would have liked for our public service periods to have coincided. She, a magistrate of the Constitutional Court with freedom and popular democracy as her flag. I admired her and mourn her, and I give my condolences to her husband, also an excellent magistrate. A great woman of the homeland and an admirable lawyer has died. May she fly 'ad astra', to the stars," the president stated.
Calle was a pioneer in defending rights such as abortion and same-sex unions. Last September, she participated in a Court decision ordering an EPS to compensate a raped woman for not interrupting her pregnancy. The Constitutional Court, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, and the Council of State mourned her passing, stating that she "departed in peace, accompanied by her family and surrounded by immense gratitude".
A lawyer graduated from the University of Medellín, with specializations in labor law, industrial relations, and administrative law, as well as a master's in administrative law from Externado de Colombia, Calle was also a professor of administrative contracting at Universidad Libre and ESAP. Among her previous roles were vice president of legal affairs at La Previsora S.A., external advisor in Pereira, and penal judge in that city.
