Political Constitution of Colombia (1991)

The Governor exercises the following powers:

To execute the Constitution and enforce it as well as the statutes, government decrees, and ordinances of the departmental assemblies.

To direct and coordinate the department’s administrative actions and to act in its name as manager and promoter of the complete development of its territory, in accordance with the Constitution and laws.

To direct and coordinate national services as delegated to the governor by the President of the Republic.

To present to the departmental assembly in a timely manner proposals for ordinances regarding plans and programs of economic and social development, public works, and the annual budget of revenues and expenditures.

To appoint and to remove freely managers or directors of public institutions and of industrial or commercial enterprises of the department. The representatives of the department on the executive boards of such entities and the directors or managers of same are agents of the Governor.

In accordance with general plans and programs, to encourage enterprises, industries, and activities which correspond to the cultural, social and economic development of the department and do not fall under the responsibility of the Nation or the municipalities.

To create, eliminate, and merge positions in the department’s dependencies, to define their special functions and to fix their remuneration subject to statute and the respective ordinances. He/she may not create obligations at the expense of the departmental treasury that exceed the global amount specified for the respective service in the budget as initially approved.

To eliminate or merge departmental entities in accordance with ordinances.

To veto on grounds of unconstitutionality, illegality, or unsuitability proposed ordinances, or to approve and promulgate them.

To examine the acts of municipal councils and mayors and, on grounds of unconstitutionality or illegality, submit them to the competent Tribunal so that it may decide on their validity.

To see to the accurate collection of departmental revenues, revenues of the decentralized entities, and of those which may be the object of transfers by the nation.

To convene the departmental assembly for special sessions in which it shall only consider the issues and matters for which it was summoned.

To select from the lists submitted by the respective national head of administration the managers or sectional heads of public institutions at the national level which operate in the department, in accordance with the relevant statute.

To exercise administrative functions that the President of the Republic may delegate.

Other powers specified by the Constitution, laws, and ordinances.