Álvaro Uribe

President of Colombia

4 July 1952 Medellín, Colombia

-

7 August 2002 – 7 August 2010

31st President of Colombia In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Uribe and the second or maternal family name is Vélez. Álvaro Uribe31st President of ColombiaIn office 7 August 2002 – 7 August 2010Vice President Francisco Santos CalderónPreceded by Andrés Pastrana ArangoSucceeded by Juan Manuel SantosSenator of ColombiaIn office 20 July 2014 – 18 August 2020In office 20 July 1986 – 20 July 1994Governor of AntioquiaIn office 1 January 1995 – 1 January 1998Preceded by Ramiro Valencia CossioSucceeded by Alberto Builes OrtegaMayor of MedellínIn office October 1982 – December 1982Appointed by Álvaro Villegas MorenoPreceded by Jose Jaime Nicholls SánchezSucceeded by Juan Felipe Gaviria Gutierrez Personal detailsBornÁlvaro Uribe Vélez (1952-07-04 ) 4 July 1952 (age 69) Medellín, ColombiaPolitical partyLiberal (1977–2001) Colombia First (2001–2010) Social Party of National Unity (2010–2013) Democratic Center (2013–present) Spouse(s)Lina María Moreno Mejía (m. 1979)Children2Alma materUniversity of AntioquiaAwardsPresidential Medal of Freedom (2009)SignatureWebsiteOfficial website Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe, started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in the Public Enterprises of Medellín and in the Ministry of Labor and was the director of the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics (1980–1982). He became Mayor of Medellín in October 1982. He was Senator between 1986 and 1994 and finally Governor of Antioquia between 1995 and 1997 before he was elected President of Colombia in 2002. Following his 2002 election, Uribe led an all-out military offensive against leftist guerrilla groups such as the FARC and the ELN with funding and backing from the Clinton and Bush Administrations in the form of a 2.8 billion dollars direct foreign aid package called "Plan Colombia", as well as leading a controversial effort in the demobilizing of the rightwing paramilitary group known as the AUC, all of which are part the Colombian Armed Conflict. On 13 January 2009 the United States awarded Uribe the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in fighting along the US lead War on Terror in the Colombian Armed Conflict. However, his role in the conflict was accompanied by large-scale alleged exactions: thousands of civilians were killed by the Colombian army (see "False positives" scandal) with almost total impunity, being investigated by the United Nations. Millions of people have been victims of forced displacement. In August 2010 he was appointed vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid. In 2012 Uribe and a group of political allies founded the right-wing Democratic Center movement to contest the 2014 national elections. He was elected senator in the 2014 parliamentary election and took office in July 2014. Uribe was critical of his successor Juan Manuel Santos's peace talks with the FARC guerrillas. In August 2020 the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ordered his arrest as part of an investigation into bribery and witness tampering. He was released from house arrest on October 10. The case went to Fiscalía General de la Nación, after Uribe resigned from his Senate seat. A number of his political opponents have claimed for years that Uribe should be prosecuted, alleging he has ties with paramilitarism.