A conservative politician from a rich family and a rural Marxist guerrilla are the lead players in Colombia's peace process, which has now produced a final deal to end five decades of conflict.
Here are short profiles of President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC rebel leader "Timochenko", former foes now on the verge of ending a conflict that has claimed more than 260,000 lives.
- Santos: fighter for peace -
Santos, 65, spearheaded a major offensive against the FARC as defense minister from 2006 to 2009.
After becoming president in 2010, he shifted tack and negotiated for peace.
"He made war as a means to achieve peace," said his brother-in-law and adviser, Mauricio Rodriguez.
"He weakened the FARC to make them sit at the negotiating table."
Santos comes from a wealthy, powerful family.
His great uncle was also head of state.
He was educated at the London School of Economics and previously served in various ministerial posts.
- Timochenko: convict negotiator -
The bearded, bespectacled FARC leader's real name is Rodrigo Londono, but he is better known by his noms de guerre Timoleon Jimenez and Timochenko.
He was born in a coffee-growing region and studied medicine in the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Timochenko, 57, is renowned as a strategist and former intelligence chief in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
He has been convicted in absentia for various attacks for which he has been sentenced to more than 150 years in jail.
He took over as FARC leader in 2011 after his predecessor, Alfonso Cano, was killed by the army.
The following year, he wrote to Santos proposing fresh peace negotiations after efforts by previous leaders had failed.
He agreed to one of Santos's key conditions, pledging to end kidnappings by the group.
"He is one of the most well-liked guys in the FARC," analyst Ariel Avila of Colombia's Peace and Reconciliation Foundation told AFP.
"He is the man who will go down in history for bringing the FARC into the peace process."
A conservative politician from a rich family and a rural Marxist guerrilla are the lead players in Colombia’s peace process, which has now produced a final deal to end five decades of conflict.
Here are short profiles of President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC rebel leader “Timochenko”, former foes now on the verge of ending a conflict that has claimed more than 260,000 lives.
– Santos: fighter for peace –
Santos, 65, spearheaded a major offensive against the FARC as defense minister from 2006 to 2009.
After becoming president in 2010, he shifted tack and negotiated for peace.
“He made war as a means to achieve peace,” said his brother-in-law and adviser, Mauricio Rodriguez.
“He weakened the FARC to make them sit at the negotiating table.”
Santos comes from a wealthy, powerful family.
His great uncle was also head of state.
He was educated at the London School of Economics and previously served in various ministerial posts.
– Timochenko: convict negotiator –
The bearded, bespectacled FARC leader’s real name is Rodrigo Londono, but he is better known by his noms de guerre Timoleon Jimenez and Timochenko.
He was born in a coffee-growing region and studied medicine in the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Timochenko, 57, is renowned as a strategist and former intelligence chief in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
He has been convicted in absentia for various attacks for which he has been sentenced to more than 150 years in jail.
He took over as FARC leader in 2011 after his predecessor, Alfonso Cano, was killed by the army.
The following year, he wrote to Santos proposing fresh peace negotiations after efforts by previous leaders had failed.
He agreed to one of Santos’s key conditions, pledging to end kidnappings by the group.
“He is one of the most well-liked guys in the FARC,” analyst Ariel Avila of Colombia’s Peace and Reconciliation Foundation told AFP.
“He is the man who will go down in history for bringing the FARC into the peace process.”
