Presenter: Francisco Santos Calderón, Ambassador of Colombia to the United States
- Former Vice President of Colombia (2002-2010) under Alvaro Uribe Velez’s administration. As Vice President of Colombia, he put in place policies against corruption, extortion and kidnapping. He led Colombia’s international promotion of trade, investment and tourism.
- He ran in the 2015 mayoral race for Bogota on the Democratic Center Party ticket. He promoted democracy and citizen participation in public affairs by the creation of Fundación Confianza Colombia.
- Democratic Center Party’s head of debate in 2017.
- In 1990 Santos was kidnapped by narcotrafficker Pablo Escobar. After 8 months of captivity he was released and created the world’s first NGO to fight kidnapping. Fundación País Libre promoted the Anti-Kidnapping Statute, the only law tabled by public petition via signature collection in Colombia.
- Between 2000 and 2002 he was forced to leave the country, due to threats from the guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He lived in Madrid, Spain, for two years where he worked at El País, the most important spanish newspaper.
- In the 1980’s he held several editorial positions in the major newspaper of Colombia, El Tiempo, including night Editor-in-Chief. Santos also taught journalism and international relations at Universidad Central, Universidad Javeriana and Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, among others.
- Born October 14, 1961 in Bogota; married to Maria Victoria García. Four children: Benjamin, Gabriel, Carmen and Pedro.
- He completed his studies in the United States at the University of Kansas and at the University of Texas, earning degrees in Journalism and Latin-American Studies.
- He was awarded as a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University and won the Paul Harris Medal in 1993, the highest distinction given by Rotary International.
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