Juan Manuel Santos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Juan Manuel Santos GColIH GCB GColL ODB
Santos in 2018
32nd President of Colombia
In office 7 August 2010 – 7 August 2018
Vice President	Angelino Garzón Germán Vargas Lleras Oscar Naranjo
Preceded by	Álvaro Uribe
Succeeded by	Iván Duque
President pro tempore of the Pacific Alliance
In office 30 June 2017 – 24 July 2018
Preceded by	Michelle Bachelet
Succeeded by	Martin Vizcarra
In office 23 May 2013 – 20 June 2014
Preceded by	Sebastián Piñera
Succeeded by	Enrique Peña Nieto
Minister of National Defence
In office 18 July 2006 – 18 May 2009
President	Álvaro Uribe
Preceded by	Camilo Ospina Bernal
Succeeded by	Freddy Padilla de León (acting)
Minister of Finance and Public Credit
In office 7 August 2000 – 7 August 2002
President	Andrés Pastrana Arango
Preceded by	Juan Camilo Restrepo Salazar
Succeeded by	Roberto Junguito Bonnet
Minister of Foreign Trade
In office 18 November 1991 – 7 August 1994
President	César Gaviria
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Daniel Mazuera Gómez
Presidential Designate of Colombia
In office 11 August 1993 – 7 August 1994
President	César Gaviria
Preceded by	Humberto De la Calle
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (1951-08-10) 10 August 1951 (age 73) Bogotá, Colombia
Political party	Liberal Party (until 2005) Social Party of National Unity (since 2005)
Spouses	Silvia Amaya Londoño (divorced) María Clemencia Rodríguez Múnera ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	Martín María Antonia Esteban
Relatives	Gabriela Tafur (Daughter-in-law)
Alma mater	University of Kansas (BA) London School of Economics (MSc) Harvard University (MPA)
Awards	Nobel Peace Prize (2016)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Colombia
Branch/service	Colombian Navy
Years of service	1967–1971

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (born August 10, 1951) is a Colombian politician. He served as the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. In 2016, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring peace to his country.

Santos is an economist and a journalist. He comes from a well-known and powerful family in Colombia. His family owned El Tiempo, a major newspaper, for many years.

He held several important government jobs before becoming president. In 1991, he was Colombia's first Minister of Foreign Trade. Later, in 2000, he became the Minister of Finance.

Santos became very well known during the time of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. In 2005, Santos helped start a political party called the Social Party of National Unity. This party supported President Uribe's policies. After Uribe was re-elected in 2006, Santos became the Minister of National Defence. In this role, he worked hard against rebel groups in Colombia.

In 2010, Santos was elected president. He was seen as a supporter of Uribe at first. However, their views later differed, and Uribe became a strong opponent. This led to a close election in 2014, where Santos was re-elected.

On October 7, 2016, Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize. This was for his work in making a peace agreement with the FARC rebel group. Even though a public vote on the deal failed, a revised agreement was signed and approved by Congress. This helped end a long conflict in Colombia.

About Juan Manuel Santos

Early Life and Education

Juan Manuel Santos was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He went to a private school there. In 1967, he joined the Colombian Navy. He studied at the Admiral Padilla Naval Cadet School and served until 1971.

After leaving the Navy, Santos moved to the United States. He attended the University of Kansas. In 1973, he earned a degree in Economics and Business Administration. In 2017, he received an honorary doctorate from the university.

Further Studies and Career Beginnings

After Kansas, Santos worked for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia in London. While there, he studied at the London School of Economics. He earned a Master of Science degree in Economic Development in 1975.

He then went to Harvard University in the U.S. In 1981, he earned a Master of Public Administration degree. After his studies, he returned to Colombia. He became the Deputy Director of his family's newspaper, El Tiempo.

Santos has also been part of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank in Washington. He was also president of the Freedom of Expression Commission for the Inter American Press Association.

Government Roles Before Presidency

Santos served as the Minister of Foreign Trade from 1991 to 1994. He was also the Presidential Designate of Colombia from 1993 to 1994. From 2000 to 2002, he was the Minister of Finance and Public Credit. In 1992, he led the eighth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

In 1994, Juan Manuel Santos started the Good Government Foundation. This group aimed to improve how the Colombian government worked. It also suggested ideas for peace talks with the FARC rebel group.

Minister of Defence Role

Minister Santos with his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, during a visit to the Pentagon in 2008

Santos helped create the Social Party of National Unity (Party of the U). This party supported the presidency of Álvaro Uribe. On July 19, 2006, Santos became the Minister of Defence.

During his time as Defence Minister, the government made big moves against the FARC group. This included rescuing Fernando Araújo Perdomo and Ingrid Betancourt. They also rescued fourteen other hostages, including three Americans.

Addressing Military Conduct

In 2008, issues arose regarding military reports on enemy casualties. Santos admitted that some military members had carried out actions that were not right. He promised to fix these problems.

Twenty-seven military officers, including generals and colonels, were removed from their positions. This happened after an investigation found problems in their reporting. The Commander of the Colombian National Army, General Mario Montoya, resigned. By May 2009, many soldiers were found guilty or arrested for these issues.

Different groups had various estimates for the number of people affected. Investigations looked into hundreds of cases involving many victims and military members. Some groups believed that government policies might have encouraged these problems.

In June 2009, a United Nations Special Rapporteur said that some actions by military personnel were systematic. However, he found no proof that these actions were official government policy. He also noted a decrease in new reported cases.

Santos stated in March 2010 that these issues had stopped since October 2008. He said this was confirmed by a human rights group. This group later clarified that while cases had greatly reduced, a few still occurred.

Juan Manuel Santos resigned from the Defence Ministry on May 18, 2009. He said his resignation was linked to whether Uribe would seek a third term as president. When Uribe could not run again, Santos officially began his own campaign for president.

Presidency (2010–2018)

Santos and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, June 9, 2010.

On June 20, 2010, Juan Manuel Santos was elected President of Colombia. He took office on August 7, 2010. His presidency began during a diplomatic issue with Venezuela, which was quickly resolved.

Peace Talks with FARC

On August 27, 2012, Santos announced that his government was talking with FARC. The goal was to end the long conflict in Colombia. He said he would learn from past mistakes to achieve a lasting peace. Military operations continued during the talks.

In October 2012, Santos received the Shalom Prize. This was for his dedication to peace in Colombia and worldwide. He noted that both Colombians and Israelis have sought peace for many years.

In September 2016, Santos announced a full agreement with FARC. This agreement involved a process similar to a truth and reconciliation approach. It focused on admitting guilt and community service instead of traditional punishment.

The 52-year conflict in Colombia had a huge cost. It affected many lives and displaced millions of people. The peace agreement was a major step towards healing the country.

Presidential Campaigns

2014 Re-election Campaign

Santos in 2016

On November 20, 2013, Santos announced he would run for re-election. He officially filed his papers on November 25. As the current president, he easily won his party's nomination. He also gained support from other political parties, forming the National Unity Coalition.

On March 12, Santos officially launched his re-election campaign. His slogan was: "We have done much, there is much to be done." His running mate for the campaign was Germán Vargas Lleras.

In the first round of the election on May 15, Santos received 25.69% of the votes. He was behind his main rival, Óscar Iván Zuluaga Escobar. Since no one won a majority, a second round of voting was held. Santos received support from other politicians for the second round.

On June 15, Santos won the second round with 50.95% of the votes. After his victory, President Santos spoke to his supporters. He said, "This is the end of 50 years of conflict in this country, and it is the beginning of a new Colombia." His win was seen as important for the peace process with FARC.

Family Life

Juan Manuel Santos is the son of Enrique Santos Castillo and Clemencia Calderón Nieto. He has three brothers: Enrique, Luis Fernando, and Felipe. The Santos family has been very influential in Colombia for a long time. His great-granduncle, Eduardo Santos Montejo, was President of Colombia from 1938 to 1942. Eduardo also bought the national newspaper El Tiempo.

The family has been connected to the newspaper and to Colombian politics ever since. Juan Manuel's father, Enrique, was a chief editor of El Tiempo. His cousin, Francisco Santos Calderón, was the Vice President of Colombia from 2002 to 2010.

Santos was first married to Silvia Amaya Londoño, but they divorced. He then married María Clemencia Rodríguez Múnera, known as "Tutina." They have three children: Martín (born 1989), María Antonia (born 1991), and Esteban (born 1993).

Honours and Awards

2016 Nobel Peace Prize

• The 2016 Nobel Peace Prize was given to President Juan Manuel Santos. This was for his strong efforts to end Colombia's civil war. This war had lasted over 50 years and caused many deaths and displacements.

Awards from Other Countries

Award or decoration		Country	Date	Note
	Order of the Aztec Eagle	Mexico	1 August 2011
	Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry	Portugal	14 November 2012
	Knight Grand Cross of the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, Special Class	Two Sicilies	7 June 2013
	Grand Cross with Gold Star of the Order of Francisco Morazán	Honduras	28 January 2014
	Knight Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic	Spain	28 February 2015
	Medal of Military Merit, First Class	Mexico	7 May 2015
	Medal of Naval Merit, First Class	Mexico	7 May 2015
	Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath	United Kingdom	2016
	Grand Cross with Gold Star of the National Order of Doctor José Matías Delgado	El Salvador	2016
	Grand Collar of the National Order of Merit	Paraguay	24 April 2017
	Grand Collar of the Order of Liberty	Portugal	13 November 2017

International Awards

• King of Spain Prize
• Peace Lamp of St. Francis of Assisi
• Global Statesman Award
• Gernika Award for Peace and Reconciliation
• Shalom Prize
• New Economy Forum Prize 2016
• The Inter-American Dialogue's Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Peace
• National Geographic Society Honors President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia for his Unwavering Commitment to Conservation. President Santos has done more than many elected leaders in the Americas to expand protected areas.
• Colombian President awarded Kew International Medal for work protecting biodiversity.
• Harvard Law School's 2017 Great Negotiator Award
• Tipperary International Peace Award 2017
• Chatham House Prize

Other Recognition

A new plant species from Northeastern Colombia was named Espeletia praesidentis. This was to honor President Santos's efforts to build peace.

Images for kids

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  Juan Manuel Santos's signature

See also

In Spanish: Juan Manuel Santos para niños