Former President Alvaro Uribe on Sunday was elected the greatest Colombian in history in a poll organized by the History Channel.
Great Colombians
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The controversial former head of state won convincingly and obtained 30.3% of the votes.
Uribe won the contest in which the audience was allowed to vote for the most important Colombians in the categories of history and politics, arts and journalism, science and sports.
According to newspaper El Espectador, more than a million votes were cast in the popular election.
The Great Colombian was a remake of a similar contest held by the BBC in the United Kingdom, which elected former Prime Minister Winston Churchill the Great Briton of that country’s history.
Uribe was president from 2002 to 2010 and widely praised for leading a successful military offensive against guerrilla groups FARC and ELN. While still counting on a approval rating of more than 50%, the former president is embroiled in several scandals including the extrajudicial execution of thousands of civilians by the military under his command, the illegal wiretapping of political opponents, alleged ties to right-wing paramilitary groups and a number of corruption scandals.
PROFILE: Alvaro Uribe