Juan Manuel Santos

Juan Manuel Santos has served as Colombia's Minister of National Defense since July 20, 2006. Minister Santos started his public service career in 1991 as the first Colombian Foreign Trade Minister under President César Gaviria, and was the last Colombian vice president under the former constitution, elected by the Colombian Congress in 1993. In the summer of 2000 President Andrés Pastrana invited him to join his administration as Finance Minister, a post he held for two years and from which he helped rescue Colombia's economy from its deepest recession.

Santos graduated from Colombia's Naval Academy as the best cadet in his promotion. He graduated with honors in economics and business administration at the University of Kansas and concluded graduate studies in economics, economic development, and public administration at the London School of Economics and Harvard University. He was also a Fulbright Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University.

Santos is also a respected journalist and entrepreneur. In 1982 he was appointed as deputy director and president of the editorial board of Colombia's leading newspaper, El Tiempo. He was awarded the most important journalism distinction in the Spanish speaking world, the King of Spain Prize. For five years he was vice president of the Press Freedom Commission of the Interamerican Press Society, where he fought against censorship in countries like Cuba and Chile under the regime of General Pinochet. His career and accomplishments were recognized by his selection as one of the world's 100 most important young leaders by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.