page_title: Álvaro Uribe
section_title: Presidency (2002–2010)
hierarchical_section_title: Álvaro Uribe / Presidency (2002–2010)
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kolumbianischer Präsident Alvaro Uribe Vélez besucht Donald Rumsfeld im Pentagon am 22. März 2004. English: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe meets with Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld in the Pentagon on March 22, 2004. Uribe, Rumsfeld and their senior advisors are meeting to discuss defense issues of mutual interest.
context_page_description: Álvaro Uribe Vélez is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010.Currently he is under house arrest in his hacienda "el uberrimo" while on trial by the Colombian Supreme Court for the alleged crimes of witness tampering, obstruction of justice and crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in the Aro Masacre that took place while he was Governor of Antioquia.
  Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in the Empresas Públicas de Medellín and in the Ministry of Labor and was the director of the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics. He became Mayor of Medellín in October 1982 by Belisario Betancur. He was Senator between 1986 and 1994 and finally Governor of Antioquia between 1995 and 1997 before he was elected President of Colombia in 2002. Following his 2002 election, Uribe led successful campaigns against Marxist and Communist guerilla groups the FARC and the ELN, as well as leading a successful yet controversial effort in the demobilizing of the rightwing paramilitary group known as the AUC, all of which are part the Colombian Armed Conflict.
context_section_description: Polls consistently showed an unprecedented support for Uribe by many Colombians, estimated at around 70% after his second year in office. Support is widespread, but highest among medium and higher income Colombians. Uribe's relative popularity is largely attributed to his administration's successful campaigns against the FARC and the ELN, and in part to the efforts to begin demobilizing the paramilitaries (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia). Also, analysts point out that Uribe is seen as a charismatic 24-hour workaholic and a promoter of personal and administrative austerity, which some interpret as a role model for other Colombians and politicians.
caption: Uribe during a meeting at the Pentagon in 2004
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