Andrés Pastrana Arango (born 17 August 1954) was the President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002 as a member of the Republican Party. As a former President, he currently sits in the Senate of Colombia as Senator-for-life. His term is best known for the internationally embarrassing over-budget and behind-schedule preparations for the 2002 Summer Olympics, which were held shortly after his term ended. He was defeated in the 2002 Presidential election by the Social candidate Álvaro Uribe, breaking the nineteen-year hold of the PR on the Palacio Bolivariano. His reign was marred by corruption scandals involving state-level party officials with close ties to the Presidency and the 2000-2001 Colombian recession, the first such recession since the late 1980's. Pastrana is often blamed for the fall of