The former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe Velez, has had a profound impact on this nation.

Alvaro Uribe took office as the present Colombian president on August the 7th, 2002. Uribe is now serving his second term after an amendment of the Colombian Constitution that previously permitted the president to serve for a single term.

Uribe has been hugely popular, averaging approval ratings in the 70-80% range. I have personally seen how his firm hand and aggressive policies against the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the United Self Denfence Forces of Colombia (AUC).

The results are significantly improved security and lead to increased and sustained economic growth. He is considered right-wing and therefore is naturally disapproved of by some who see him as favoring the wealthy and commerce above social reform.

Uribe turned primarily to military force, in order to contain the three armed groups (FARC, ELN, AUC) and to later, gradually, return to negotiations.

His long-term ambitions are to improve social justice, decrease kidnapping and homicides and to fight the drug trade but he sees these as only possible by first applying force. One direct consequence of his policies for my wife and I have been the possibility of driving safely from Medellin to the Northern coast and to Bogota. These trips, only a few years ago, would have been potentially too dangerous to make. There is a large presence of police patrolling national highways on all the major routes with intermittent check points along the routes.

Colombian president Uribe, is from Medellin in Antioquia, son of a wealthy landowner, Alberto Uribe Sierra and former council person Laura Velez.

Uribe excelled at school, studied law at the University of Antioquia where he was an honor student and later attended Harvard University to do a post-graduate certificate in administration and management and later studied at Oxford University with a Simon Bolivar scholarship awarded by the British Council. In other words, his academic credentials were firmly in place. Uribe began his career working at the large Medellin-based company, Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM) as their chief of assets and turning to politics and turning to politics, became governor of Antioquia from 1995 to 1997, then Senator of Antioquia for two terms from 1986 to 1994. There have been allegations aimed at President Uribe for having drug trafficking links and even to the Medellin Cartel and Pablo Escobar. These claims have not been proved are are denied by Uribe.

There was also a scandal in 2006, when a number of Uribe's congress members were charged with links to paramilitary groups and later in 2007 aimed at Uribe himself for similar ties. He defended himself against the claims and the matter has now eased. A major victory for Uribe was the hostage rescue on July 2nd, 2008, named "Operation Jaque". I remember the sense of pride and excitement by locals as we watched the news on TV here in Medellin. Obviously, the story was spun for full media effect, making the Colombian operation and troops out to be heroes. And why not?

The rescue operation involved the rescuing of former presidential candidate, French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages who had been held by the FARC in captivity since February 23rd 2002. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's own father was killed by the FARC in 1983.

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