Francisco Santos Calderon
| Francisco Santos | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 8th Vice President of Colombia | |
|
In office 7 August 2002 – 7 August 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 |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Francisco Santos Calderón (born 14 October 1961 in Bogotá), also known as Pacho Santos, is a Colombian politician and journalist. Santos was elected as Álvaro Uribe's second runner up and became Vice President in the Colombian elections of 2002. Santos was re-elected in the presidential elections of 2006 for a second term once again with President Uribe to continue as Vice President of Colombia. His great-uncle Eduardo Santos was President of Colombia from 1938 to 1942 and the current president of Colombia (Juan Manuel Santos) is his cousin.
Santos, like his cousin, President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, is a graduate of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. He also graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and attended Harvard Extension School.
In 1990 the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar kidnapped him to pressure the Colombian government to revert its support of druglords' extraditions to the United States.
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.
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Wikipedia