Building Global Prosperity: Innovation and Action - KIN Global

Juan Manuel Santos
Minister of National Defense
Republic of Colombia
Juan Manuel Santos is Minister of National Defense for the Republic
of Colombia, a post he has held since 2006 following a distinguished
career in journalism and public service.
Among his many positions in business and public affairs, he has
served as Minister of Foreign Trade, president of the Seventh United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development, president of the United Nations Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), director of the Andes Development Corporation
(CAF), and chief executive of the Colombian Coffee Delegation to the International Coffee
Organization in London.
Santos also founded the Social National United Party (Party of the U) to support the presidency
of current president Álvaro Uribe. He is a subdirector of his family’s newspaper, El
Tiempo, and has been a columnist for 14 different newspapers.
During Santos’ tenure as defense minister, the Colombia government has dealt some of the
most devastating blows in recent history against the terrorist organization FARC, including
the rescue of the country’s current foreign affairs minister, the death of FARC leader Raul
Reyes and the rescue of former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, held captive
since 2003.
Santos holds a degree in economics and business administration from the University of
Kansas and holds masters’ degrees in economics, economic development and public
administration from the London School of Economics and Harvard University.
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