Juan Manuel Santos

Juan Manuel Santos is awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, for notable contributions to achieving peace in his country and the world.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring an end to a decades-long civil war between the government and a guerilla organization.

Santos was born in Bogota, Colombia, and arrived at the University of Kansas as a student in 1969, going on to receive economics and business degrees from KU in 1973. After graduating, he studied at the London School of Economics and Harvard University. He has served as minister of foreign trade, minister of finance and public credit and minister of national defense before becoming president of Colombia. A former journalist, Santos earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in peace negotiations between the government and guerillas who had been fighting a civil war for more than 50 years.

Santos also received the KU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences' Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012.