People Profile: Gabriel Silva Luján, Colombia
Who is he? Gabriel Silva Luján was named Colombia's new minister of defence on 27 July 2009. Since 2002 he has served as chief executive of Colombia's powerful National Coffee Growers Federation.
Why watch him? Silva's appointment brings a managerial approach to the defence ministry, arguably the most important position in President Alvaro Uribe's cabinet. Silva will be tasked with seeing through - and guaranteeing the financial viability - of the government's military offensive against the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc), which is much-weakened but not yet defeated. He takes over amid a regional row over a proposed deal which would give the US access to at least three Colombian military bases.
Age: 49 years.
Born: In the city of Baranquilla, on the Caribbean northern Colombia.
Education: Undergraduate degree in political science, with a concentration in economics, from the University of the Andes in Bogotá.
Postgraduate qualifications in economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC, where Silva was a Ford Foundation scholar.
Public life: Upon leaving university, Silva went straight into a high-level government job as a security advisor to then-President Virgilio Barco (1986-1990). He was an advisor on international affairs in the government of then-President César Gaviria (1990-1994) and, in 1993, became one of Colombia's youngest ever ambassadors to the US. He has served as chief executive of Colombia's iconic National Coffee Growers Federation since 2002.
Timeline:
1986-1990: Advisor to then-President Virgilio Barco (Partido Liberal) in security and political affairs. During this period he completed his postgraduate studies in economics and international relations at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC.
1990-1993: Named as advisor in international affairs to then-President César Gaviria (Partido Liberal), with whom Silva has maintained a close relationship. Contributes to the formulation of security policies, and particularly anti-drugs and anti-terrorism policies at a time when Colombia was under immense pressure from drug cartels.
1993: Appointed by Gaviria as ambassador to the United States, becoming one of the youngest ever appointees to the post. Responsible for various trade agreements, including the Andean trade preferences act (Atpa), now known as the Atpdea. Helps secure Gaviria's election as secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS).
1994: Towards the end of his tenure has to deal with the diplomatic crisis sparked by allegations that then-President Ernesto Samper (1994-1998) had accepted campaign donations in excess of US$6m from the Cali drug cartel. Silva handled the crisis in Washington for several months before the US decided to withdraw all political assistance to Samper.
Mid-late 1990s: Distances himself from public life following the Samper scandal, although maintains links with various influential figures, including Juan Manuel Santos and César Gaviria. Runs various private businesses.
July 2002: Took over as president of the national coffee growers federation (Fedecafé), his candidacy enthusiastically supported by his friend Juan Manuel Santos. Oversaw a radical overhaul of the then-struggling organisation, and a resurgence in its profits.
Strengths: Silva is well-liked and well-connected. He is on good terms with President Alvaro Uribe, and is close to his predecessor and current favourite to replace Uribe in 2010, Juan Manuel Santos. His seven-year stint at Fedecafé proved his managerial and business abilities; one of his main tasks will be to guarantee the financial viability of Uribe's hardline “democratic security" policies in the face of a planned reduction of US military aid. His business experience should also help him to modernise and 're-brand' the armed forces, following a series of damaging scandals over human rights abuses, namely extrajudicial killings. As a former ambassador to the US, Silva has diplomatic experience and links to Washington, which should help smooth the progress of the US base deal (and the regional diplomatic fall out).
Weaknesses: Silva has a hard act to follow. His predecessor, Santos, is held up in Colombia as one of the country's most successful defence ministers, thanks to his successful offensive against the Farc. Equally, Silva's close friendship with Santos is unlikely to endear him to neighbouring Venezuela and Ecuador, who loathe the former defence minister for his outspoken defence of Colombia's controversial March 2008 raid on a Farc camp in Ecuador. Like Santos, Silva is a risk taker, which at times yielded mixed results during his Fedecafé presidency.
Prospects: Silva takes office at a critical moment. Silva will be tasked with advancing, and evolving, the government's so-called “Strategic Jump" ('salto estratégico') operation aimed at pushing the Farc to “the point of no return" and consolidating advances made thus far. At the same time, he will have to reassure Colombia's neighbours that under his watch the country's armed forces - and the mooted US military presence - do not pose a threat to regional peace. Silva also faces a new wave of violence from emerging armed groups, made up of demobilised paramilitaries and other criminal organisations, funded by drug-trafficking and organised crime.