Two appointments have recently taken place at the embassies of Colombia and the United Kingdom in Spain. The Colombian Paulina Estrada and the British David McFarlane will soon join their new destinations.
The Cali native Paulina Estrada will be the new Central Consul General of Colombia in Madrid, one of the most relevant diplomatic positions for the attention of Colombians in Spain. This Valle del Cauca lawyer has experience in managing communities abroad.
Before joining the campaign team, she worked as a consultant and legal assistant at the Colombian Consulate in Miami, where she handled legal matters for Colombian citizens residing in the United States. In 2025, she was called to lead the international strategy of the presidential candidacy, coordinating teams of volunteers and witnesses in various countries.
The new consul coordinated, during the electoral contest, work teams distributed across several nations and articulated communication with the diaspora. She also promoted alliances with leaders and organizations of Colombians abroad, which strengthened the presence of the candidacy in international scenarios.
With this appointment, Estrada will have the mission of strengthening consular services, supporting the Colombian community residing in her jurisdiction, and contributing to the strengthening of relations between Colombia and Spain.
Her designation marks a historic event for Cali and represents a new challenge in Colombian diplomacy, as she takes on the responsibility of addressing the needs of thousands of compatriots residing in Spanish territory and strengthening ties between Colombia and Spain.
On the other hand, David McFarlane is the new minister counselor of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Spain (Deputy Head of Mission). Since joining the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1999, David has held various positions both in London and abroad, focusing mainly on the Indo-Pacific region and Europe.
Before taking up his position in Madrid, he worked in the Cabinet Office as Director of International Affairs at the National Security Secretariat. His previous roles include Head of the Western Europe Department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Deputy Director for the Indo-Pacific and China at the National Security Secretariat, and Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, working for David Miliband and William Hague.
Abroad, David has worked several times in Beijing, where he successively held the positions of Minister Counselor for Political Affairs, Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs, and First Political Secretary. In Belgrade, he served as the number two at the embassy (Deputy Head of Mission) and, in Brussels, he worked for the European Commission as a national expert, responsible for China and Hong Kong.
