Lably
Skip to content

Juan Manuel Santos

President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018

  • 15 min read
  • 7 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Time (magazine), Bogotá and UN Trade and Development

Lab · Class 1Time – Reading the ClockLab · Class 2Time (Hours & Half-hours)Lab · Class 11Earth Through TimeLabStory Time

An economist by training and a journalist by trade, Santos is a member of the wealthy and influential Santos family, who from 1913 to 2007 were the majority shareholders of El Tiempo, Colombia's newspaper of record.

In 1991, Santos was appointed by President César Gaviria Trujillo as Colombia's first Minister of Foreign Trade. In 2000, he was appointed by President Andrés Pastrana Arango as the 64th Minister of Finance and Public Credit.

Santos rose to prominence during the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who was elected in 2002. In 2005, Santos co-founded and led the Social Party of National Unity (Party of the U), a liberal-conservative party coalition that backed the policies of President Uribe, successfully supporting his attempt to seek a constitutional reform to be able to run for a second term. In 2006, after Uribe's re-election, when the Party of the U won a majority of seats in the two chambers of Congress, Santos was appointed as Minister of National Defence, and continued defending the security policies of President Uribe, taking a strong and forceful stance against FARC and the other guerrilla groups operating in Colombia. His time at the Ministry of Defense was tarnished by the "False positives" scandal, the executions of thousands of civilians that the army passed off as guerrillas killed in combat.

In 2010, Santos won the presidential election as the protégé of Uribe. Some months later, Uribe became his strongest opponent, and also founded three years later the opposition party Democratic Center. This rivalry led to Santos' unpopularity and a near-defeat during the 2014 Colombian presidential election against Uribe's protégé Óscar Iván Zuluaga.

On 7 October 2016, Santos was announced as recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts negotiating a peace treaty with the FARC-guerrilla in the country, despite his defeat in the referendum held over the deal, where the "No" campaign led by Uribe's Democratic Center won narrowly. The Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal on 24 November and sent it to Congress for ratification instead of conducting a second referendum. Both houses of Congress ratified the revised peace accord on 29–30 November 2016, marking an end to the conflict. The treaty brought deep divisions and polarization in the country, which questions its legitimacy. Santos has been named as one of Time's 100 most influential people. Santos left office with one of the lowest levels of popular approval ever, and his successor was Uribe's new protégé, Iván Duque, a moderate critic of Santos' peace treaty with the FARC guerillas.

Life and career

Santos was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He attended Colegio San Carlos, a private secondary school in Bogotá, where he spent most of his school years until 1967, when he enlisted in the Colombian Navy and transferred to the Admiral Padilla Naval Cadet School in Cartagena, graduating from it in 1969, and continuing in the Navy until 1971, finishing with the rank of naval cadet NA-42z 139.

After leaving the Navy, Santos moved to the United States where he attended the University of Kansas. A member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, he graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor in Economics and Business Administration. On 31 October 2017, Santos received an honorary doctorate of human letters from KU.

After graduating from the University of Kansas, Santos was Chief Executive of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia to the International Coffee Organization in London. During this time he also attended the London School of Economics, graduating with a Master of Science in Economic Development in 1975. He then attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, graduating with a Master of Public Administration in 1981. He returned to Colombia to become Deputy Director of his family owned newspaper El Tiempo. Santos has been a member of the Washington-based think tank the Inter-American Dialogue since 1990, and he previously was co-chair of the Board of Directors. He was president of the Freedom of Expression Commission for the Inter American Press Association.

A Fulbright visiting fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1981, and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1988, Santos also holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

He was Minister of Foreign Trade of Colombia during the administration of President César Gaviria Trujillo from 1991 to 1994 and also the Presidential Designate of Colombia from 1993 to 1994, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia during the administration of President Andres Pastrana Arango from 2000 to 2002. In 1992 he was appointed President of the VIII United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

In 1994 Juan Manuel Santos founded the Good Government Foundation, whose stated objective is helping and improving the governability and efficiency of the Colombian Government. This organization presented a proposal for a demilitarized zone and peace talks with the FARC guerrilla group. Juan Manuel Santos has been named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people. Universidade NOVA de Lisboa is granting the Honoris Causa Doctorate title to Juan Manuel Santos.

Sign in to keep reading

6 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Politicians and leaders

Donald TrumpPresident of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)Barack ObamaPresident of the United States from 2009 to 2017JesuitsMale religious congregation of the Catholic ChurchFranklin D. RooseveltPresident of the United States from 1933 to 1945George W. BushPresident of the United States from 2001 to 2009Winston ChurchillBritish statesman and writer (1874–1965)