The Vice President of Colombia (Spanish: Vicepresidente de Colombia), officially known as the Vice President of the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: Vicepresidente de la Republica de Colombia) or Vice President of the Nation (Spanish: Vicepresidente de la Nacíon) is the first in the presidential line of succession, becoming the new president of Colombia upon leave of absence or death, resignation, or removal of the president, as designated by the Colombian Constitution of 1991 which also reinstated the vice president figure after almost a century of being abolished during the presidency of Rafael Núñez. The vice president cannot assume presidential functions on temporary absences of the president such as official trips abroad or vacations. In these cases, the president delegates functions to a cabinet member, usually the Minister of the Interior.
The vice president has the same period of functions that the President of Colombia and will replace him in case of temporary or complete absences. The vice president can also be authorized by the president special missions (like to represent him on international diplomatic visits) or designate him in any position of the Colombian Executive branch of Power.
According to the Decree 2719 of 17 December 2000 in the Colombian Constitution of 1991 which modified the structure of the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic, the functions of the vice president are:
The vice president must be a natural-born citizen of Colombia, at least 30 years of age. The Colombian Constitution of 1991 requires the vice president to meet the same eligibility requirements as the president that can be re-elected. Individuals are eligible to serve an unlimited number of terms as vice president.[2]
In absence of both the president and the vice president, Article 203 of the Constitution of 1991 establishes that the presidential office will be assumed by a minister in the order of precedence established by law. The assuming minister has to be a member of the same party or movement the original president belonged to, and will exercise the presidency until the Congress, within the 30 days following the presidential vacancy, elects a new vice president who will assume the presidency.