Upon assuming the
Presidency of the Republic in his first term (2002–2006), President
Álvaro Uribe Vélez decided to merge the Ministries of Health and Labor into the Ministry of Social Protection. The two ministries that made up the Ministry of Social Protection were the Ministry of Labor, created by Law 96 of 1938, and the Ministry of Health, created under the name of Ministry of Hygiene by Law 27 of 1946 and later called the Ministry of Health. With the passage of Law 1444 of 2011, the Ministry of Social Protection was split into two; according to article 7 of said law, the Ministry of Social Protection was transformed into the Ministry of Labor, and according to article 9 of the same law, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection was created. == Location ==