Antanas Mockus

Antanas Mockus Sivickas (Bogotá, March 25, 1952), a Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician, the only son of Lithuanian imigrants, left his post as rector of the National University of Colombia in Bogotá in 1993, and later that year ran a successful campaign for mayor. He proceeded to preside over Bogotá as mayor for two terms, during which he became known for springing surprising and humorous initiatives upon the city's inhabitants. These tended to involve grand gestures, including local artists or personal appearances by the mayor himself -- taking a shower in a commercial about conserving water, or walking the streets dressed in spandex and a cape as Supercitizen.

Recent work

In 2003 Mockus stepped down as mayor, to be replaced by Luis Eduardo Garzón, and took a year's sabbatical, travelling and speaking around the world. He planned to return to teaching at CNU the following year, although he said he was "considering the possibility of launching a presidential campaign".

Related Topics:
2003 - Luis Eduardo Garzón

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After spending two weeks at the Kennedy School of Government as a visiting fellow in 2004, "to share lessons about civic engagement with students and faculty," Mockus returned to Harvard as a Visiting Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures to teach two Spanish classes during the Fall 2004-2005 semester. In November, Mockus made a special trip to the University of Virginia to speak about the use of positive social mechanisms in relation to his tenure as the mayor of Bogotá.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~