Belisario Betancur is the former president of Colombia. During his presidency, he began the Grupo de Contadora por la Paz, a multilateral agreement to promote peace in Latin America. He pushed for democratic reforms to reintegrate armed troops into civilian life, promoted low-cost housing and open universities, and began a national literacy campaign. Betancur has been internationally praised for his efforts to forge peace in Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

About

Belisario Betancur was born to a blue-collar family in Colombia. His father worked at a textile company, and his mother owned a small shop. Betancur was one of 21 siblings, of whom five survived. Betancur’s only opportunity for education was to attend a seminary, where he received a scholarship and excelled academically. He later received another scholarship at the Universidad Pontifica Bolivarian in Medelllín, Colombia, where he completed a dual doctoral degree in law and economics.

After a long political career, Betancur was elected president of Colombia in 1982, during a period in which rule of law in Colombia was severely weakened by illegal armed guerrilla groups—the EPL, the FARC, and the M-19. Betancur was the first president of Colombia to initiate peace talks with the guerrillas, who had challenged rule of law for almost 20 years. Even though a successful cease-fire and peace agreement were reached, it was nullified when the guerrillas failed to recognize the agreements. Colombia has since held three peace talks with the guerrillas, all modeled after Betancur’s example.

“The causes of conflict are subjective ‘guerrillas’ or personal factors and objective dependence, absence of social infrastructure, under-development in general."

During his presidency, Betancur formed the Grupo de Contadora por la Paz, for which he received the Prince of Asturias Peace Award in 1983. The group’s objective was to develop diplomatic channels to resolve the civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The Grupo Contadora por la Paz insisted that these countries engage in peace talks to forge democratic processes, demilitarization, and respect for human rights. In 1985, four other countries joined the group making it El Grupo de los Ocho. The work of the group was the basis of the Procedure to Establish Firm and Lasting Peace in Central America, developed by Oscar Arias, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987.

Betancur was also vice-president of the Club of Rome for Latin America and president of the Pan American Health Organization in Washington. He is a member of the Círculo de Montevideo, and the Carter Center’s Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas. He is currently president of the Santillana Foundation for Latin America in Bogotá. Betancur has received honorary doctorates from Georgetown University and from Colorado University. He has been awarded the Legion of Honor by the French Government and the Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Spanish government, as well as the Order of the Aztec Eagle by the Mexican government. His many publications include La penitencia del poder, published in 2009, and La pasión de gobernar, published in 1999.