Francisco Santos Calderón
Francisco Santos Calderón | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 42nd Colombia Ambassador to the United States | |
| Assumed office 6 September 2018 | |
| President | Iván Duque Márquez |
| Preceded by | Camilo Reyes Rodríguez |
| 8th Vice President of Colombia | |
| In office August 7, 2002 – August 7, 2010 | |
| President | Álvaro Uribe Vélez |
| Preceded by | Gustavo Bell |
| Succeeded by | Angelino Garzón |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 August 1961 Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Political party | Democratic Center (Colombia) |
| Spouse(s) | María Victoria García |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupation | Journalist, Professor |
Francisco Santos Calderón (born 14 August 1961), also known as Pacho Santos, is a Colombian politician and journalist. Santos was elected as Álvaro Uribe's running mate and became Vice President in 2002. Santos was re-elected in 2006 for a second term with President Uribe. His great-uncle Eduardo Santos was President of Colombia from 1938 to 1942 and the succeeding president of Colombia (Juan Manuel Santos) is his cousin. He is currently serving as Ambassador of Colombia to the United States. He presented his credentials to president Donald Trump on September 17, 2018.
Biography[]
Education[]
Santos, like his cousin, ex-President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, attended high school at Colegio San Carlos a private all-male elite school in Bogotá. Both are also graduates of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, United States.
Santos also graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and attended Harvard as a Neiman Fellow.
Kidnapping[]
In 1990 the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar kidnapped him to pressure the Colombian government to revert its support of drug lords' extraditions to the United States.[citation needed]
Human rights advocate[]
Upon his return, Santos became an advocate of human rights in Colombia, especially those of victims affected by kidnapping after he himself suffered from this practice. He created a non-governmental organisation called Fundación Pais Libre (Free Country Foundation), with the intentions of advancing awareness and helping the victims and their families. However, he has been criticised due to polemic declarations that support repression against students involved in protests.
Plan Colombia[]
2007 in an interview for the film documentary The War on Drugs Santos defends Plan Colombia and the use of aerial fumigation as a tool for Coca eradication in Colombia.
[]
Since 2008, Santos has spoken as part of the Shared Responsibility campaign to raise public awareness of cocaine production's impacts on Colombia's forest biodiversity, including deforestation and chemical contamination. The campaign links cocaine use to environmental destruction.[1]
Ambassador of Colombia to the United States of America[]
Santos served as Ambassador of Colombia to the United States of America in Washington D.C. from September 2018 to the present.[2]
Popular culture[]
- In TV series Pablo Escobar, The Drug Lord is portrayed by the Colombian actor Gustavo Ángel as the character of Fernán Santana.
References[]
- ^ "Shared Responsibility". Archived from the original on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- ^ "Pacho Santos anuncia su salida de la embajada en Estados Unidos". eltiempo.com. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
External links[]
- 1961 births
- Living people
- Santos family
- Colombian activists
- Colombian human rights activists
- Colombian journalists
- Male journalists
- Colombian Roman Catholics
- Harvard Extension School alumni
- Kidnapped Colombian people
- Kidnapped politicians
- Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners
- University of Kansas alumni
- University of Texas at Austin alumni
- Politicians from Bogotá
- Ambassadors of Colombia to the United States
- Vice presidents of Colombia
- Colombia First politicians
- Democratic Center (Colombia) politicians