Juan Manuel Santos
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Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring Colombia’s 50-year-long civil war to an end.
Full name: Juan Manuel Santos
Born: 10 August 1951, Bogotá, Colombia
Date awarded: 7 October 2016
A tribute to the Colombian people
President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring Colombia’s civil war to an end. Lasting for over 50 years, the war has cost at least 220,000 lives and displaced almost 6 million people. The award is also a tribute to the Colombian people, who have never stopped hoping for peace. The civil war’s victims have participated actively in the peace process and testified to abuses on all sides. In August 2016 the government and FARC signed a controversial peace agreement, which was rejected by a narrow margin in a later referendum. But the Nobel Committee stated that the peace process was not dead, as “the referendum was not a vote for or against peace”. The award is intended to encourage the parties to continue the peace process.
"I accept it, not on my behalf, but on behalf of all Colombians, especially the millions of victims who have suffered for more than 50 years."
- Juan Manuel Santos, 7 October 2016
Tenacious negotiator
Juan Manuel Santos comes from an influential family in Bogota. After studying economics and public administration in the UK and USA, he started his career as head of Colombia’s largest newspaper. His first ministerial position came in 1991, and he served as defence minister before becoming president. Santos campaigned on a platform of security for Colombia’s citizens. After becoming president in 2010 he held secret meetings with the FARC guerrillas. These meetings turned into formal negotiations, which was highly controversial. But Santos has made it clear that he will continue working for peace until his last day in office.
50 years of civil war
Colombia’s history is marked by civil war and recurring conflicts between liberals and conservatives. A political assassination in 1948 sparked off the period called La Violencia (the violence) – an undeclared civil war. Several left-wing guerrilla groups were formed in the 1960s, the oldest and largest of them is FARC. Since the 1970s, Colombia has been a major exporter of cocaine to North America. Both guerrilla and so-called paramilitary groups have funded their operations through the production and sale of narcotics. The violence has diminished in recent years, and there have been several attempts at peace negotiations.
A No on the road to peace?
President Santos and FARC started official peace negotiations in August 2012. Four years later they signed a peace deal. For the first time, the victims played an important role in the negotiations, leading to agreement on land reform, victim compensation and punishment for the guilty. Nevertheless, the prospect of FARC participating in national politics and some abuses going unpunished was hard for many to accept. A referendum, held on 2 October 2016, rejected the peace deal by a narrow margin. Since then, Santos and FARC have upheld the ceasefire and called for a broader national dialogue to continue the peace process.
The sixth Nobel Peace Price for Latin America
This peace prize meets two of the criteria in Alfred Nobel’s will: disarmament and fraternity. The negotiations in Colombia paved the way for the disarming of guerrilla forces and the reconciliation process. The decision to award the prize to Santos alone has been criticised, but the Nobel Committee emphasised that he took the initiative and bore much of the responsibility for the process. The Nobel Peace Prize has rewarded negotiators many times before. In 1936, Carlos Saavedra Lamas was awarded the prize for the peace agreement between Bolivia and Paraguay. Other negotiators include Oscar Arias Sánchez, Bishop Belo and José Ramos-Horta.
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Pragmatist by nature, disciplined, cosmopolitan, committed to his country, Juan Manuel Santos has been an effective leader throughout his life ...
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Nobel Prizes and laureates
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