Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 32nd President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. He is a member and leader of the right-wing political party Democratic Center.
Uribe began his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in the Public Enterprises of Medellín and in the Ministry of Labor, and directed the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics (1980–1982). He became the Mayor of Medellín in October 1982. He served as a senator between 1986 and 1994, and as the Governor of Antioquia between 1995 and 1997, before being elected President of Colombia in 2002.
Following his 2002 election, Uribe led an all-out military offensive against terrorist groups such as the FARC and the ELN with funding and backing from the Clinton and Bush administrations in the form of a US$2.8 billion direct foreign aid package called "Plan Colombia". He also led an effort to demobilize the right-wing paramilitary group known as the AUC. His defense minister Juan Manuel Santos played a significant role in his administration and oversaw large-scale alleged executions, by which thousands of civilians were killed by the Colombian army, as part of the "false positives" scandal, with almost total impunity. Their deaths are being investigated by the United Nations.
In August 2010, Uribe was appointed vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid. In 2012 Uribe and a group of political allies founded the right-wing Democratic Center movement to contest the 2014 national elections. He was elected senator in the 2014 parliamentary election and took office in July 2014. Uribe was critical of his successor Juan Manuel Santos's efforts to appease the FARC terrorists.
In August 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ordered his arrest as part of an investigation into bribery and witness tampering. The case went to the Attorney General, after which Uribe resigned from his Senate seat. He was convicted on 28 July 2025, but this was overturned on appeal in October 2025.
Uribe oversaw democratic backsliding in Colombia during his presidency. A number of his political opponents have claimed for years that he ought to be prosecuted, alleging that he has ties with paramilitarism.
Early life and education Álvaro Uribe was born in Medellín, the oldest of five children. His father, Alberto Uribe Sierra, was a landowner. When he was 10, his family left their Salgar ranch and moved to Medellín. He graduated in 1970 from the Instituto Jorge Robledo, after being expelled from the Medellín Benedictine School for arguing with the Benedictine monks.
Uribe studied law at the University of Antioquia and graduated in 1977. His father was killed by a guerrilla group during a kidnapping attempt in 1983.Colombia, laboratorio de embrujos. Democracia y terrorismo, 2007, Hernando Calvo Ospina After his father's death, Uribe focused on his political career and became a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. Uribe was appointed mayor of Medellín by Antioquia governor Álvaro Villegas in 1982, although he only held the post for five months as he resigned for reasons that remain controversial. According to Villegas, then President Belisario Betancur pressured the governor to ask for his resignation because he claimed that Uribe had links to the Medellín Cartel.
In 1993, he attended Harvard University, receiving a Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management from Harvard Extension School and a Certificate in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from Harvard Law School. Between 1998 and 1999, after having completed his term in office as the governor of Antioquia, he studied at St Antony's College, Oxford, England, on a Chevening–Simón Bolívar scholarship and was appointed Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College.
Uribe married Lina María Moreno Mejía in 1979. They have two sons, Tomás and Jerónimo.
Political career
In 1976, at the age of 24, Uribe was Chief of Assets for the Public Utilities of Medellín (Empresas Públicas de Medellín). He served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Labor under Alfonso López Michelsen from 1977 to 1978. During this time, he married Lina Moreno, a philosopher from Medellín. President Julio César Turbay named him Director of Civil Aviation from 1980 to 1982, at the age of 28, after the previous director was assassinated. He was appointed Mayor of Medellín in 1982, but was removed five months later due to alleged connections with drug cartels.
Senator of Colombia Uribe was elected one of Antioquia's senators from 1986 to 1990, and again from 1990 to 1994. As senator, he served as president of the Seventh Commission and he supported laws dealing with reform of pensions, labor and social security, as well as promotion of administrative careers, cooperative banking, brown sugar, and protection for women. Some of the legislation later drew criticism, in particular some which reduced the state's responsibility for social security. During his later term, he received official and unofficial awards as one of the "best senators" (1990, 1992 and 1993) and as the senator with the "best legislative initiatives" (1992).
Governor of Antioquia He was elected governor of the department of Antioquia for the 1995 to 1997 term. During his term, Uribe developed what he described as a model for a communitarian state, where in theory, citizens would participate in the administration's decision making. It was claimed that this model would help improve employment, education, administrative transparency and public security.
Within his jurisdiction, Uribe openly supported a national program of licensed private security services that became known as CONVIVIR, which had been created by Decree 356 issued by the Colombian Defense Ministry in February 1994. The groups quickly became controversial – while some reportedly improved security in communities and intelligence coordination with the military, their members were accused of abusing civilians and operated without serious oversight. In 1998, Human Rights Watch stated: "we have received credible information that indicated that the CONVIVIR groups of the Magdalena Medio and of the southern Cesar regions were directed by known paramilitaries and had threatened to assassinate Colombians who were considered as guerrilla sympathizers or who refused to join the cooperative groups".
2002 presidential election
Uribe ran as an independent liberal candidate, having unofficially separated from his former party. His electoral platform centered on confronting Colombia's main guerrilla movement, the FARC. Other relevant propositions included slashing the national administration's expenses, fighting corruption and initiating a national referendum to resolve several of the country's political and economic concerns.
Colombia's government under President Andres Pastrana had engaged in peace negotiations with the largest guerrilla group, the FARC, but after four years of peace negotiations without cease-fires, disapproval of Colombia's main parties grew. Violence was rampant. The FARC claimed they had taken control of some 100 municipalities of Colombia out of 1093 at that moment. Kidnappings were common and were among the highest in the world, as well as the assassination and crime rate. The AUC was also gaining influence, and expanding its massacres and illicit drugs production, competing with FARC, ELN and other narco-traffickers.
Until at least 2001, polls showed that at most 2% of the electorate contemplated voting for Uribe and that the Liberal Party's Horacio Serpa would probably win. But public mood shifted in his favor after the peace process with the guerrillas degenerated. The administration of President Andrés Pastrana had failed for four years to secure a cease-fire, and Uribe began to be seen as a candidate who might provide a viable security program. Former General Harold Bedoya, a candidate with a superficially similar program, remained marginalized.
Uribe was elected President of Colombia in the first round of 26 May 2002 elections with 53% of the popular vote. His running mate was Francisco Santos Calderón, a member of the Santos family, who have a long-lasting tradition as members of the Colombian Liberal Party and as owners of Colombian daily newspaper El Tiempo. Santos was also one of the founders of the anti-kidnapping NGO Fundación País Libre, created shortly after his own experience as a hostage of drug lord Pablo Escobar. Observers considered the elections mostly free of foul play at the national level, but there were instances of active intimidation of voters and candidates, by the actions of guerrilla and paramilitary groups. 47% of the potential electorate voted, down from the previous round of voting.
Some of Uribe's opponents made accusations during his campaign, especially in a speech by Horacio Serpa and a book published by Newsweek's Joseph Contreras, who interviewed Uribe that year. Claims centered on Uribe's alleged past personal relationships with members of the Medellín Cartel and the sympathy that some paramilitary spokesmen expressed towards Uribe as a candidate. Uribe and his supporters denied or undermined these claims, and critics are committed to legal actions ongoing.
Former paramilitary Salvatore Mancuso, commander of the AUC, admitted in 2023 that his organisation had supported Álvaro Uribe's presidential campaign in 2002.
Presidency (2002–2010)
Internal conflict During his tenure, Uribe's declared priority was to contain or defeat the three main armed groups in Colombia, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), National Liberation Army (ELN), and FARC. And by the end of his first term in office the AUC had other right-wing militias agree to disarm and go to jail under special sentences of seven years.
Uribe stated that the government had to first show military superiority to eventually make the guerrillas return to the negotiating table with a more flexible position, even if this would only happen after his term in office expired. Early in his government, he was quoted as saying that Colombia's main concerns were the challenges of terrorism and the narcotics trade. In a dialog with BBC's Talking Point, Uribe stated: "Of course we need to eliminate social injustice in Colombia but what is first? Peace. Without peace, there is no investment. Without investment, there are no fiscal resources for the government to invest in the welfare of the people".
His security program was based on a policy of democratic security, aiming to: Gradually restore police presence in all municipalities. Increase judicial action against crimes of high social impact. Strengthen public institutions. Reduce human rights violations. Dismantle terrorist organizations (especially armed rebel groups; the main one is the FARC-EP). Reduce kidnappings and extortion. Reduce homicide levels. Prevent forced displacement and facilitating the return of forcefully-displaced people. Continue to fight the illegal drug trade through interdiction, eradication and judicial action.
The policy intended to achieve these goals by: Engaging the civilian population more actively. Supporting soldiers. Increasing intelligence capacity. Reinstating control over national roads. Demobilizing illegal groups. Integrating the armed forces services. Increasing defense spending.