PhD alumnus of Tilburg University now a minister in the Colombian government

Economist Jonathan Malagón González completed his PhD at Tilburg University in an impressive three years, while he also worked as the vice president of the Colombian Banking Association. His lightning-fast career has now taken another sharp upswing: at the age of 34, Malagón has been installed as a minister in Colombia’s new cabinet.

Seven months have passed since Malagón successfully defended his doctoral thesis on central banking in Latin America in the auditorium of the Cobbenhagen building. He has since swapped the Tilburg University campus for a new workplace: the headquarters of the Colombian Ministry of Housing in Bogotá.

Malagón was appointed as minister of Housing and Local Development by Colombia’s new president, the conservative former senator Iván Duque. One thing the Tilburg University alumnus has in common with the new president of Colombia is his young age: Duque took office a week after his 42nd birthday, making him Colombia’s youngest president ever, and Malagón was offered a seat in his cabinet at just 34 years old.

When Malagón obtained his doctorate from Tilburg University last year, Univers spoke to him about his remarkable career success. “You need to be determined, and you need the support of your company and of your family. I had all three of those things,” he said of his speedy progress as an economist and as an academic.

Read the full interview with Jonathan Malagón González here.PhD thesis: ‘Four essays on central banking in Latin America under balance of payments dominance’

Supervisors: professor Sylvester Eijffinger and professor Harry Huizinga

_Advertentie.