Susana Muhamad

María Susana Muhamad González (born in April 21, 1977) is a Colombian political scientist, environmentalist and politician belonging to the Colombia Humana party.

Since August 7, 2022, she has held the position of Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of her country, in the government of Gustavo Petro.

Muhamad is a nationally and internationally recognized environmentalist.

She was the Former Director for Climate Action Planning for Latin America in C40 director.

Her work focuses on developing actions that allow Colombia to consolidate as a world power of life, through compliance with international agreements on climate change and loss of biodiversity, the protection of environmental defenders, and the fight against deforestation in the Amazon region.

Muhamad is of Palestinian ancestry.

She was born in and hails from Bogotá.

Muhamad has a degree in political science from the Universidad de los Andes, and a Master's in Management and Planning of Sustainable Development from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

She was a sustainable development consultant for Shell Global Solutions International in The Hague, the Netherlands and has supported through activism different environmental causes, as well as worked and collaborated with communities on the ground, non-governmental organizations and human rights movements.

Susana Muhamad was an active member and leader of AIESEC, having served as the President of AIESEC in Colombia and as one of the Directors of AIESEC International

Muhamad was secretary of the environment and general secretary of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá.

In 2019 she was elected city councilor, a position she held until the first semester of 2022.

In 2021, Muhamad was elected as vice president of the national coordination board of the Colombia Humana party, after this political movement officially received its legal status.

On July 5, during the transition from the Duque government to the Petro government, the elected President Gustavo Petro announced the appointment of Muhamad as Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development

Muhamad stressed that the environmental sector has been marginalized in past administrations, in addition to its purpose to work hand in hand with communities for the preservation of the environment, as Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world., she has shown herself as a defender of the escazu agreements, within her agenda as environment minister in conjunction with the president and the congress of congress for the legislation and subsequent implementation of the agreements.

Muhamad has been clear regarding her positions on three of the most important issues on her agenda as environment minister.

One of them, which has also been one of the most questioned by the opposition, is fracking.

The government seeks to eliminate fracking as a means of extracting oil, since this means of extraction creates irreparable damage to the environment as well as to the atmosphere and water reserves.