AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Juan Manuel Santos new president of Colombia

Bogota (Agenzia Fides) – Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's former Minister of Defence won the second round of presidential elections held yesterday 20 June, with 69% of the votes compared to 27.5% of the rival candidate, former mayor of Bogota Antanas Mockus.
Juan Manuel Santos, who obtained the highest percentage of votes in the history of Colombia, is in line with the policies of outgoing president Alvaro Uribe. With this result voters showed a desire for continuity, since Santos was one of the architects of the security policies of the government of Alvaro Uribe.
The process of voting was threatened by some unrest in which reportedly at least seven soldiers and four policemen were killed.
Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, aged 58, became famous in 1991 when he left his job as deputy editor El Tiempo to become Minister of Foreign Trade in the government of Cesar Gaviria. Santos, who will take office 7 August, expressed his gratitude to the electors and paid homage to his predecessor and to his rival Mockas, who could be part of a national unity government if the new President should decide to form the broadest possible coalition. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 21/06/2010)