César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo (Spanish: [ˈsesaɾ awˈɣusto ɣaˈβiɾja tɾuˈxiʝo] ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National Director of the Colombian Liberal Party from 2005 to 2009.

Born in Pereira, the Gaviria family had been important figures in Colombian politics and economy for over 30 years.

His two main competitors were Hernando Durán Dussán, backed by regional party leaders, and Ernesto Samper.

[2] His campaign was also the target of attacks by Pablo Escobar; Gaviria was to take Avianca Flight 203, bound for Cali.

Despite stable economic growth and foreign investment, 45 per cent of Colombians lived below the poverty line (particularly in rural areas) and slums were growing around major cities.

Created by drug traffickers and supported by the army (President Gaviria said he saw them as a "possible solution"), paramilitary groups (autodefensas) were often engaged in fighting the country's various guerrilla factions.

[5] His government created the "Convivir" in 1994, which was supposed to help the army predict the activities of insurgent groups through a network of informers.

However, according to journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina, "the reality has shown that the Convivir have legalized networks of hired killers in the service of drug traffickers and landowners, while having as their main objective the use of the civilian population as a cover for the paramilitary movement.

[8] His son, Simón Gaviria, led the Liberal Party between 2011 and 2014 and then served as national director of planning under the government of Juan Manuel Santos from 2014 to 2017.