Bogota  - Alan Jara, former governor of the central Colombian province of Meta, was released Tuesday by leftist Colombian rebels after more than seven years in captivity.

"I am free. I have rested for seven-and-a-half years, now it's time to work," Jara told reporters in Meta capital Villavicencio.

After being released by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) earlier Tuesday, Jara arrived in Villavicencio in a Brazilian Army helicopter, accompanied by Red Cross officials and people involved in negotiations with the rebels to secure the release of hostages.

At the airport, the former hostage - who looked happy but appeared to be very weak and thin - was met by his wife and teenage son, who ran to the helicopter for an emotional reunion.

"I have two health problems, but otherwise I am fine," he said.

Colombian opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba, who led efforts to secure the release and was present at the handover, said the former governor told her that he suffered from eyesight and thyroid problems.

Jara, 51, had been held by FARC since July 15, 2001. He was handed over to Red Cross officials in the jungles of the southern Colombian province of Guaviare before being flown to Villavicencio, near Bogota.

According to other former hostages and from letters that he managed to send to his family, Jara - who studied engineering in the Ukraine in the 1970s - passed time as a prisoner in the jungle by teaching fellow hostages English and Russian.

FARC released four hostages - three police officers and a soldier - on Sunday, while former regional legislator Sigifredo Lopez was to be released on Thursday.

In 2008, FARC had unilaterally released six former hostages, while a rebel deserted and helped another hostage escape.

Last July, a group of 15 hostages - including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three US contractors - were rescued by the Colombian Armed Forces.

FARC are now believed to hold some 800 hostages, most of them for ransom. There is also a group of about 20 police and military officers whom the rebels hope to exchange for imprisoned comrades. dpa