General Freddy Padilla de León (born 10 October 1948) is a retired General

Military ranks of the Colombian Armed Forces

- Army :The Colombian Army is the largest of the three service branches of the Military Forces of Colombia, tasked with defending sovereignity and law and order across the national territory....

 of the Army of Colombia and currently serves as Ambassador of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Permanent Representative

Permanent Representative

A Permanent Representative is the head of a diplomatic mission to one of various international organisations. The best known of the organisations to which states send Permanent Representatives is the United Nations; of these, the most high-profile ones are those assigned to headquarters in New...

 to the United Nations Office at Vienna

United Nations Office at Vienna

The United Nations Office in Vienna is one of the four major UN office sites where several different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the Vienna International Centre, a cluster of several major international...

. Prior to this diplomatic post General Padilla served as the General Commander of the Armed Forces of Colombia from 2006 to 2010, and as such assumed the Ministry of National Defence

Ministry of National Defense (Colombia)

The Ministry of National Defence , is the national executive ministry of the Government of Colombia charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the armed forces of Colombia, similar to the defense ministries in...

 ad interim

Ad interim

The Latin phrase ad interim literally means "in the time between" denotes the meaning of "in the meantime", "for an intervening time" or "temporarily" in the English language...

in 2009.

Ambassadorship

As Ambassador to Austria, Gen. Padilla is also accredited as Resident Representative

Resident Representative

A Resident Representative is the head of a United Nations agency in a given country. As such, the Resident Representative has the same rank as an ambassador of a foreign state accredited to that country, under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations....

 to the various United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 programmmes and agencies located at the United Nations Office at Vienna

United Nations Office at Vienna

The United Nations Office in Vienna is one of the four major UN office sites where several different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the Vienna International Centre, a cluster of several major international...

. He presented his Letters of Credence to the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...

, Yuri Fedotov

Yuri Fedotov

Yuri Viktorovich Fedotov is a high level diplomat of the Russian Federation. Currently he serves as the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at the rank of Under-Secretary-General after having been the ambassador to the United Kingdom.Fedotov graduated from the...

 on 13 October, to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency

International Atomic Energy Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...

, Yukiya Amano

Yukiya Amano

is the current Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency , having been elected to the position in July 2009. Amano previously served as a Japanese diplomat and international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions....

 on 28 October, to the Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...

, Kandeh K. Yumkella on 1 November,,

As Ambassador of Colombia to Austria, Gen Padilla is dually accredited as Non-Resident Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Slovakia, the Republic of Croatia, and the Republic of Turkey. In this capacity, Gen Padilla presented his Letters of Credence to the different heads of state or representatives, first to the President of the Czech Republic

President of the Czech Republic

The President of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic. Unlike his counterparts in Austria and Hungary, who are generally considered figureheads, the Czech President has a considerable role in political affairs...

, Václav Klaus

Václav Klaus

Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...

 on 11 April 2011 at Prague Castle

Prague Castle

Prague Castle is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here...

, then to the President of Hungary, Pál Schmitt

Pál Schmitt

Pál Schmitt is the current President of Hungary. He was elected President of Hungary in a 263 to 59 vote in the Parliament of Hungary and was sworn in on 2010....

 on 31 May 2011, to the President of Slovakia

President of Slovakia

The President of Slovakia is the head of state of Slovakia. The President is directly elected by the people for five years, and can be elected for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...

, Ivan Gašparovič

Ivan Gašparovic

Ivan Gašparovič is a Slovak politician and law professor who has been the President of Slovakia since 15 June 2004. He is also the first Slovak president to be re-elected.-Biography:...

 on 12 July at the Grassalkovich Palace

Grassalkovich Palace

The Grassalkovich Palace is a palace in Bratislava and the residence of the president of Slovakia. It is situated on Hodžovo námestie, near the Summer Archbishop's Palace....

, and to Igor Senčar, the Director-General of the Directorate for European Affairs and Bilateral Political Relations at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Slovenia)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Slovenia is the chief foreign affairs ministry in Slovenia, located in the capital Ljubljana. This ministry operates 57 diplomatic offices across the world including embassies, consulates, and permanent missions...

, on 14 July,