BBC Profile of the newly elected President of Colombia
Juan Manuel Santos, 58, is no stranger to high office and the reins of power. He comes from an influential Colombian family. His great-uncle, Eduardo Santos, was president from 1938 to 1942 and owned the country's largest newspaper, El Tiempo. His cousin, Francisco Santos, is the current vice-president.
In his political career before winning a convincing victory in Sunday's presidential poll, Juan Manuel Santos has occupied the posts of foreign trade minister and economy minister.
But it was his term as defence minister under President Alvaro Uribe from 2006 until 2009 where he had his greatest impact: it paved his way to the presidency.
He was instrumental in carrying out the president's "democratic security policy", aimed at increasing the presence of the security forces throughout the country and driving back Colombia's main left-wing rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
Many Colombians credit him with an increase in security, but others argue the victories he achieved came at too high a price.
He oversaw Operation Checkmate, the successful rescue by the military of 15 high-profile hostages, including the former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.
He was also in charge when the Colombian military mounted a controversial air raid into Ecuador during which senior Farc leader Raul Reyes and 25 other people were killed.
The Colombian military says the killing of Mr Reyes was a major blow to the Farc but Ecuador continues to be incensed its airspace was violated.
An Ecuadorean court has issued an arrest warrant for what the judge called Mr Santos' intellectual role in the attack.
During Mr Santos' tenure as defence minister, the military was also rocked by a scandal called "false positives". A number of senior officers were accused of the extrajudicial killing of civilians, leading to the resignation of the head of the army.
During his campaign, Mr Santos insisted that he would continue to implement the policies of President Uribe, with a strong emphasis on combating the drugs trade and Farc.
He has also promised to invest in Colombia's infrastructure to create more jobs. He says his government would aim to have at least one person in every family working in a formal job and has urged Colombians to move away from the informal economy.
