Álvaro Uribe Vélez

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.