Senator Dilian Francisca Toro Torres
President of the Senate, Congress of the Republic of Colombia

Senator Dilian Francisca Toro Torres is the President of Congress of the Republic of Colombia. Prior to her election to the Senate, Ms. Torres, a trained physician, served as a council person and mayor of the municipality of Guacarí, in Colombia’s Valle del Cauca, as well as the region’s Secretary of Health. As a woman, mother, wife and politician, she has dedicated herself to tirelessly working for the rights of Colombian women; at age 15, she founded Guacarí’s Cultural Centre and began working with low-income communities. In her role as Senator, she is a member of the Commission on Women and the Commission on Peace and Humanitarian Exchange, and has led Congress in drafting legislation that would strengthen women’s rights in Colombia, with a focus on the prevention of violence against them. She has also formed a special commission on women within Congress, to work for gender equality, social justice, worker’s rights and mental and sexual and reproductive rights of Colombian women, girls and adolescents.