Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President of Colombia

By the Editorial Staff

Friday | October 07, 2016 | 9:28 AM | Last update: October 07, 2016, 4:29 PM (Brasilia time)

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has killed at least 220,000 Colombians. The prize was announced on Friday, 7, by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón was born in Bogota, Colombia’s capital city, on August 10, 1951. He is a lawyer and economist and was elected Colombian President in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Previously, he served as National Defense Minister under former President Álvaro Uribe.

During the ECOSOC High-Level Segment in 2013, in Geneva (Switzerland), the President of Colombia (R) gave a speech in the Substantive Session. At the end of the event, he received from the Legion of Good Will’s representative at the United Nations, Danilio Parmegiani, the LBV’s recommendations of best practices in the field of education and social assistance.