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Juan Manuel Santos Calderón

Juan Manuel Santos’s presidency marked one of the most transformative and complex periods in modern Colombian history. Building upon the military and institutional achievements of his predecessor Álvaro Uribe, Santos sought to redefine the nation’s direction—transitioning from a singular focus on security to a broader vision of peace, prosperity, and inclusion. His administration was characterized by a combination of continuity and reform: a commitment to maintaining hard-won security gains while addressing the social, economic, and institutional inequalities that had long fueled Colombia’s internal conflict. His tenure from 2010 to 2014 represented not just a change in leadership but an evolution in Colombia’s national purpose.

On August 7, 2010, Juan Manuel Santos was inaugurated as President of Colombia. Before assuming the presidency, he had built a distinguished career in public service and diplomacy. Santos had served as Minister of National Defense during Uribe’s second term, where he oversaw major victories against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Earlier in his career, he held the positions of Minister of Finance under President Andrés Pastrana and Minister of Trade under President César Gaviria. His extensive experience in economics, security, and governance gave him a reputation as a pragmatic and strategic statesman capable of bridging Colombia’s deep political divides.

Upon taking office, Santos faced a nation that had achieved major security gains but still grappled with the underlying conditions that had perpetuated conflict for decades—rural poverty, displacement, weak state institutions, and pervasive inequality. His administration immediately introduced an ambitious National Development Plan, built on three pillars: peace, equity, and education. It emphasized national unity and institutional reform, aligning Colombia’s modernization with social inclusion. Santos’s governing coalition, known as the National Unity Party (“Partido de la U”), secured a strong legislative majority that allowed his administration to pass major structural reforms early in his term.

Among his earliest achievements was the enactment of the Victims and Land Restitution Law, signed in June 2011. This landmark legislation recognized the rights of over four million Colombians affected by internal conflict, marking the first time in the nation’s history that the state officially acknowledged its victims. The law provided reparations for those displaced or harmed by violence and established mechanisms for land restitution to families who had lost property during decades of armed conflict. If direct restitution was impossible—because the land was unsafe, occupied, or protected as an ecological reserve—beneficiaries would receive financial compensation or equivalent land elsewhere. This legislation became a cornerstone of transitional justice, linking Colombia’s legal and social institutions to its broader peacebuilding goals.

To support the new legal framework, Santos reorganized the executive branch, creating new ministries to address emerging national priorities. He established the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, ensuring that critical areas received focused attention. At the same time, he dismantled the discredited Administrative Department of Security (DAS), whose reputation had been tainted by corruption and human rights scandals, replacing it with a civilian intelligence agency designed to ensure transparency and democratic oversight. These reforms demonstrated Santos’s intent to rebuild trust in state institutions and strengthen the rule of law.

Vice President Angelino Garzón, a respected labor leader, was tasked with coordinating human rights and labor policies. Under his leadership, the government took a firm stance against threats to unions and activists. Garzón’s office became a bridge between the state and civil society, reflecting Santos’s belief that peace could not be sustained by military power alone but required inclusion, dialogue, and justice for those historically marginalized.

The administration also enacted major fiscal and administrative reforms. The redistribution of royalties from Colombia’s lucrative natural resources was a particularly significant change. Under previous systems, wealth generated from oil and mining was concentrated in a few producing regions, leaving many departments impoverished. Santos’s reform created a more equitable distribution formula, channeling funds toward social investment, infrastructure, and education in historically neglected areas. Simultaneously, fiscal responsibility legislation strengthened the government’s capacity to manage public finances, laying the foundation for sustained economic stability and growth.

Santos’s vision of “Democratic Prosperity” extended the principles of Uribe’s “Democratic Security” to include social and economic progress. His government pursued labor formalization, poverty reduction, and job creation, seeking to generate 2.5 million new jobs and formalize 500,000 existing informal ones by 2014. These goals were supported by labor reform legislation that encouraged hiring, expanded social protections, and enhanced opportunities for women and youth in the workforce. Economic growth remained steady throughout much of his first term, and the country was internationally recognized for its fiscal discipline, investor confidence, and expanding middle class.

While advancing these economic and institutional reforms, Santos maintained pressure on illegal armed groups. His administration continued high-value-target operations against the FARC and other insurgent organizations. In 2010, Colombian forces killed FARC military commander “Mono Jojoy,” a symbolic and strategic victory that weakened the group’s operational structure. Subsequent operations led to the deaths of ER-PAC leader “Cuchillo” and FARC Supreme Commander “Alfonso Cano.” Following Cano’s death, Timoleón Jiménez, known as “Timochenko,” assumed leadership of the FARC. By 2011, the estimated number of FARC fighters had fallen from 16,000 in 2001 to about 8,000, signaling a major shift in the balance of the conflict.

Despite these military successes, Santos recognized that Colombia’s decades-long internal war could not be won by force alone. Early in his presidency, he began quietly exploring the possibility of formal peace negotiations with the FARC. In 2012, these efforts materialized into official talks in Havana, Cuba, marking the first serious dialogue in more than a decade. The government’s preconditions were clear: the FARC would have to release hostages, cease kidnappings, and renounce violence as a political tool. The guerrillas responded by announcing the end of their longstanding kidnapping-for-ransom policy and released several remaining captives. These developments laid the groundwork for broader discussions on political participation, rural reform, and transitional justice.

While peace negotiations remained controversial, the Colombian public began to see tangible results from the government’s dual approach of firmness and reconciliation. Violence indicators fell sharply: kidnappings dropped by over 90%, homicides by nearly half, and terrorist attacks by more than 90% since 2002. Attacks against oil pipelines fell by 71%, and road travel increased significantly as Colombians once fearful of rural routes began to move freely again. Tourism doubled, reflecting renewed confidence in national security and Colombia’s global image as a country in recovery.

Santos’s human rights policy was central to his administration’s legitimacy. The “false positives” scandal—extrajudicial killings by military personnel who presented civilians as guerrillas killed in combat—had gravely damaged the military’s credibility during the Uribe years. Santos’s government strengthened oversight mechanisms, improved coordination between the armed forces and judicial authorities, and supported prosecutions to restore public trust. He also created programs for the reintegration of demobilized combatants, expanding education, job training, and psychosocial support to promote long-term reintegration into society.

The humanitarian agenda extended beyond conflict victims to include marginalized ethnic and social groups. Santos launched new initiatives to improve conditions for Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities, who had been disproportionately affected by displacement and poverty. Programs focused on land titling, bilingual education, cultural preservation, and rural infrastructure development. For women, the administration advanced gender equality through the implementation of a National Public Policy for Women and Gender Equality, which promoted political participation and economic empowerment.

Environmental policy became another defining aspect of Santos’s presidency. In late 2010 and early 2011, catastrophic flooding from La Niña rains devastated the country, displacing hundreds of thousands and destroying crops and infrastructure. The government declared a national emergency and established a recovery program focused on rebuilding homes, restoring agricultural production, and reinforcing environmental resilience. This crisis spurred the creation of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and a series of climate adaptation strategies that would shape Colombia’s environmental policy for the following decade.

Internationally, Santos pursued a foreign policy of reconciliation and regional engagement. He repaired relations with neighboring Venezuela and Ecuador, which had been strained under Uribe. Diplomatic channels were reopened, cross-border trade resumed, and tensions over security operations along the borders eased. Santos also positioned Colombia as a global partner for peace and development. Under his leadership, the country joined the OECD accession process, strengthened its alliance with the United States, and deepened economic ties with Pacific nations through the Pacific Alliance alongside Mexico, Chile, and Peru.

By 2013, Colombia’s economy was among the most stable and dynamic in Latin America. Foreign investment reached record levels, driven by confidence in the rule of law and expanding sectors such as energy, mining, and agriculture. The government’s fiscal management earned international praise, and programs like “Vive Digital” expanded technological access to rural and low-income areas, reducing the digital divide and promoting innovation. Yet challenges persisted: inequality remained entrenched, rural poverty persisted, and many communities still lacked adequate public services.

Politically, Santos faced increasing resistance from conservative sectors and former allies loyal to Uribe, who accused him of betraying hardline security principles by engaging in dialogue with the FARC. The 2014 congressional elections became a de facto referendum on the peace process. On March 9, 2014, Colombian voters renewed Santos’s legislative majority, signaling continued support for negotiations, while also electing former President Uribe to the Senate. This outcome reflected both endorsement and scrutiny—a divided mandate for peace.

As the 2014 presidential election approached, the political climate grew more polarized. Right-wing candidate Óscar Iván Zuluaga, representing the Democratic Center party founded by Uribe, accused Santos of conceding too much to guerrillas in exchange for peace. Santos defended his strategy, asserting that ending a fifty-year war through negotiation was the only path to a stable and just peace. The first-round election on May 25, 2014, resulted in a narrow lead for Zuluaga, forcing a runoff. In the second round, held on June 15, Santos secured reelection, bolstered by the support of progressive and centrist forces who viewed peace as the paramount national priority.

Beyond security and politics, Santos also emphasized education as the foundation of long-term prosperity. His administration increased funding for universities, launched programs to improve public school quality, and expanded vocational and technical training to prepare youth for modern labor markets. He framed education, equity, and peace as interdependent pillars of national progress—a philosophy that would define his legacy and influence the second phase of his presidency.

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón was born in Bogotá on August 10, 1951, into a family deeply connected to Colombian journalism and public life. A graduate of the Navy Academy in Cartagena, he studied Economics and Business Administration and pursued graduate studies at the London School of Economics, Harvard University, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Before his political career, he represented Colombia at the International Coffee Organization in London, serving as head of delegation and later as deputy director of the newspaper El Tiempo, one of Colombia’s most influential media outlets.

Santos’s intellectual and journalistic background shaped his approach to governance. He founded the Good Government Foundation (Fundación Buen Gobierno) to promote ethical leadership and efficient administration and co-founded the Social Party of National Unity (“Partido de la U”) in 2005, which became the largest political party in the country. His journalistic achievements earned him the King of Spain Prize and leadership of the Inter American Press Association’s Freedom of Expression Commission. He authored several books, including “The Third Way,” co-written with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, reflecting his centrist philosophy, and “Check on Terror” (“Jaque al Terror”), recounting Colombia’s counterinsurgency operations under his leadership at the Ministry of Defense.

Santos’s 2010 campaign emphasized continuity and transformation—promising to preserve the security gains of the past while guiding Colombia toward inclusive prosperity. After winning more than nine million votes, the highest in Colombian electoral history, he assumed office with a vision of unity and modernization. His first term laid the institutional and moral groundwork for Colombia’s eventual peace agreement with the FARC, redefining the nation’s path after decades of conflict.

President Santos is married to María Clemencia Rodríguez, with whom he has three children: Martín, María Antonia, and Esteban. His presidency from 2010 to 2014 set the stage for a new era in Colombian politics, characterized by pragmatic leadership, social reform, and the pursuit of peace. His tenure demonstrated that sustainable security is achieved not only through military strength but through justice, inclusion, and the belief that reconciliation is the ultimate expression of national strength.