It is an honour to welcome you
to the London School of Economics,
an institution that has played a very, very important role in the history of the world.
In the early 70s, after completing my undergraduate degree, my greatest dream was to pursue
a Masters degree in this school.
One of the happiest days of my life was when I received the letter accepting me.
It was a dream come true.
I could not have imagined that I was later going to be awarded the status of Distinguished Alumnus.
And much less, that I was going to receive an Honorary Doctorate degree
from this institution, so close to my heart.
The LSE was crucial in the development of the Welfare State.
In these classrooms, scholars began to talk about the State's commitment
to protect and care for the poorest and the neediest in society.
In other words, it was here where the State found its heart.
In my personal experience as a political leader,
I must give a lot of credit to two eminent LSE professors:
Amartya Sen, who taught me how to measure and fight poverty in a different way, which allowed
my government to cut extreme poverty by half, and reduce the Gini coefficient more
than any other country in Latin America during my eight years.
And Sir Anthony Giddens, who inspired me to put his Third Way theory in practice
in Colombia with very good results.
I even wrote a book about it, with the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
I am grateful, very grateful, to this School for such a legacy.
We are witnessing very particular times.
Today's polarised world is facing political upheaval,
the threat of terror, eruptions of brutal sectarian warfare
and the rising - terrifying - possibility of nuclear conflict.
As if that were not enough, a pandemic is now devastating the world.
And climate change is right around the corner.
I don't want to sound pessimistic or frighten you.
But, on the contrary, I want to highlight the challenges and the great opportunities
that we have before us.
It will not be easy.
It will require tremendous leadership.
And this is when you come in.
When I talk about the great responsibility that the new leaders have,
I do it with hope and optimism because I believe - I am sure -
that you will be up to these challenges.
I believe in this generation, in this generation of extraordinary men and women
because you are not motivated by hate and prejudice.
You are prepared to question old ideologies and old methods.
To open your hearts and minds to new possibilities.
I truly believe in your ability to reverse the wrong decisions,
the corrupt practices and the indifference that have brought
so much frustration and despair to this world.
As long as there are will and determination, any problem, any problem,
any conflict, can be solved.
And I have a good example:
it is the story that gave meaning to my life
and that has me standing before you today.
The story of how we managed to make possible the impossible.
In Colombia, my country, for more than half a century
we suffered an armed conflict between the State and the oldest and strongest
guerrillas in the Western Hemisphere known as the FARC.
A brutal conflict that left more than 250,000 dead
and more than 8 million victims.
We had the highest rates of killings, kidnappings and displaced people in the whole world.
For decades, all my predecessors tried to end this cruel war to no avail.
As Minister of Defence and as President, for the last 12 years,
I led the actions of our armed forces to deliver the greatest blows to these guerillas.
The greatest blows that they had ever received.
But I was aware that the solution could not be,
could not be, the extermination of the enemy.
True peace, lasting peace - the one that tempers our hearts and souls,
and heals the wounds - can only be achieved through dialogue, negotiation and reconciliation.
After all, we all have to live together because we are all sons of the same nation.
From being an effective war maker, a hawk,
I had to become a pacifier, a dove.
A change that is difficult to understand.
So I was called a "traitor".
But there is no contradiction here.
Sometimes you need to wage war to make peace.
I was a hawk because the circumstances required it.
But I always knew, as I said to my soldiers: the only victory is peace.
And we made it.
After six years of tough negotiations, we signed the Peace Agreement
that ended the last and longest internal armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere.
"How was this possible?" Many people ask.
Through goodwill, perseverance, courage, adequate planning.
But above all, by recognising each other as human beings.
I must say that here,
in this School, I learned many of the lessons and acquired
many of the tools that helped me not only to end
this long and absurd war but to improve our economic and social
indicators as never before.
History has taught us again, and again, that even in the midst of darkness,
in the midst of fear, uncertainty and suffering,
there is always a light to turn on.
A light that allows us to see a better future.
A light that clarifies, that vivifies.
I have spoken to you about the problems and challenges that the world is facing today.
And, you know what?
The good news is that they can all be solved.
You, all of you, can also make possible what many thought impossible.
And to be able to do that in today's world, I challenge you: to lead with hope, not fear;
to lead with empathy, not apathy;
to seek opportunities in every difficulty;
to embrace change;
to be optimistic in a world flooded with pessimism.
If you lead with a compassionate heart and a positive mind,
you will make the world a better place.
I challenge you, finally, to be successful
in the way Ralph Waldo Emerson defined success:
"to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived"
because you lived.