Ingrid Betancourt

Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio (born December 25 1961) is a Colombian senator and anti-corruption activist. She is Colombia's most famous hostage. She was kidnapped by the FARC on February 23, 2002 while campaigning for presidency. Betancourt is still being held.

Early life

Betancourt was born in Bogotá. Her mother, Yolanda Pulecio, was a former Miss Colombia, later serving in the Congress representing the poor southern neighborhoods of Bogotá. Her father, Gabriel Betancourt, was a Colombian diplomat, posted to the embassy in Paris, where Ingrid grew up. Their house was frequently visited by leading Colombian personalities and intellectuals. She attended the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (known as Sciences Po), an elite place of higher learning in France. After graduating, she married a fellow student and they had two children, Melanie and Lorenzo.

Related Topics:
Bogotá - Sciences Po

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Her husband was in the French diplomatic service, and they lived in various places, including New Zealand. After the murder of Luis Carlos Galán, a candidate for the Colombian presidency running on an anti-drug trafficking platform, Ingrid decided to return to Colombia (date?) and do something to help the country. From 1990 onwards, she worked at the Finance Ministry, later resigning to enter politics. Her first campaign distributed condoms ("preservativos"), with the motto that she would be like a condom against corruption. The south of Bogota supported her, thanks partially to the name recognition from her mother, who helped her campaign.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~