Major Colombian newspaper reveals Bogotá mayor does not hold claimed PhD degree

April 12, 2016

On Thursday, an article in newspaper  of Bogotá, Colombia accused the current mayor of Bogotá,, of falsely claiming to have completed a degree in Public Administration at the.

According to the report by Juana Afanador and Carlos Carrillo, the library of the does not have a doctoral thesis written by Enrique Peñalosa. In response to the article Peñalosa quickly said he never claimed he held a PhD degree and that a communication error with his political campaign team led them to include such claim in the political advertisements of his campaign for Mayor of Bogota. He said he actually took a  in Public Administration from the University of Paris II which some people might have interpreted as a Doctorate.

The reporters also identified two books written by the political leader which include a biography where he clearly states he holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Paris. Additionally, Brazilian newspaper  quoted Mr Peñalosa in September: