Former Secretaries-General

Ambassador Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares
Secretary-General (2014 - 2019)

Ambassador Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares was elected as Secretary-General of OPANAL for the period 2014 - 2017 and re-elected for a second period covering from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021. He finished his mandate on 31 December 2019.

He served as Permanent Representative of Brazil to the Conference on Disarmament from 2008 to 2011 (President of the Conference on Disarmament in July, 2010).

In 2010, he was Head of the Delegation of Brazil to the VIII Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – NPT, and to the II Conference of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia.

He was Permanent Representative of Brazil to UNESCO from 2005 to 2008.

He served as Ambassador of Brazil to Mexico and concurrently to Belize (2000-2003); Norway (1998-2000) and concurrently to Iceland (1999-2000); India (1995-1998) and concurrently to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal (1996-1998).

In the Ministry of State for Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Ambassador Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares was Under-Secretary-General for South America (2003-2005); Director General for the Americas (1992-1995); Head of the Division for Environmental Affairs (1990-1992); Head of the Division for Sea, Antarctic and Outer Space Affairs (1985-1987).

 

 

 

Ambassador Gioconda Ubeda Rivera (R.I.P.)
Secretary-General (2010 - 2013)

A Costa Rican national, Ambassador Gioconda Ubeda Rivera was Secretary-General of OPANAL from 1 February 2010 to 31 July 2013. After that, she assumed the position of Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Costa Rica and then Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Costa Rica to Panama.

In June 2006, she was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Costa Rica to the United Mexican States, a position she held until January 2010.

Since 1986, she has held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Republic of Costa Rica, including Legal Director of the Foreign Ministry with the rank of Ambassador; National Coordinator of State Reports on Human Rights; Founding President of the Costa Rican Commission of International Humanitarian Law and State Agent in the defense of Human Rights cases.

From 1998 to 2002, she was a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). From 1999 to 2006, she was a professor of Public International Law and International Humanitarian Law at the University of Costa Rica. Ambassador Ubeda has a degree in Law from the University of Costa Rica. Subsequently, she studied a postgraduate degree in International Relations at the Latin American Social Sciences Institute (FLACSO) in Argentina.

 

 

Ambassador Edmundo Vargas Carreño
Secretary-General (2001 - 2007)

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He was born on 22 April 1937 in Viña del Mar, Chile. He was Secretary-General of OPANAL from 1 June 2001 to 30 June 2007.

He studied at the Law School of the Catholic University of Valparaíso (1955-1960), where he obtained a degree in Legal and Social Sciences with maximum distinction. Ambassador Vargas Carreño concluded a postgraduate degree in International Law and Politics with the qualification "Summa Cum Laude" in the Istituto di Diritto e Política Internazionale della Universitá degli Studi Sociali di Roma, Italy (1961-1962).

He has served as Legal Adviser, with the rank of Ambassador, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile (1966 - 1970); Director of the Andrés Bello Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile (1968 - 1970); Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (1977 - 1990); Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile (1990 - 1993); Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Chile to the Argentine Republic (1993 - 1994); Permanent Representative of the Republic of Chile to the Organization of American States (1994 - 1997); Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Chile to the Republic of Costa Rica (1997 - 2000). In 2007 he was elected a member of the United Nations International Law Commission. The next year, he was elected President of that Commission for the period 2008-2009.

 

 

Ambassador Enrique Román-Morey
Secretary-General (1994 - 2000)
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He was born in El Callao, Peru. Career Diplomat of the Foreign Service of the Republic of Peru. He graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Peru in 1970. He was Secretary-General of OPANAL from 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2000. He subsequently served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament at Geneva and Director of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs at Geneva.

During his tenure as Secretary-General of OPANAL he organized the following seminars: "Non-Proliferation: Views of Latin America and the Caribbean" (Cancun, Mexico, 1995); "IAEA Safeguards Regime" (Kingston, Jamaica, 1996); "Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in the Next Century" (Mexico City, 1997); and "Disarmament and Security: A New Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean for the next Millennium" (Lima, Peru, 1999).

He is a member of the Expert Group of the "Programme for Promoting Nuclear Nonproliferation" (PPNN). He is a member of the Mexican Academy of International Law since 1997, an institution that distinguished him with the Doctorate Honoris Causa in International Law.

Román-Morey served as Permanent Representative of the Republic of Peru to the United Nations in New York from 2011 to 2013. Subsequently, in 2014, he chaired the Third Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

 

 

Doctor Antonio Stempel Paris
Secretary-General (1986 - 1993)

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He graduated from the Central University of Venezuela with the title of Doctor in Political Science in 1949.
During its XI Regular Session, held in Mexico City in April 1989, the General Conference of OPANAL re-elected him for an additional term of four years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doctor José Ricardo Martínez Cobo (R.I.P.)
Secretary-General (1981 - 1985)

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José Ricardo Martínez Cobo was born in Ambato, Ecuador in 1921. He obtained a Doctorate in Jurisprudence and Social Sciences from the Central University of Ecuador in 1945. After joining the Foreign Service of Ecuador, he served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in the Republic of Colombia, in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and in the Republic of Chile, among other assignments during his diplomatic career.

Ambassador Martínez Cobo was elected Secretary-General of OPANAL on 1 July 1981. In 1985, he was re-elected by the General Conference of OPANAL for a second term, however, he announced that he would have to leave the post on 31 December 1985

Ambassador Martínez Cobo had his first contact with OPANAL in 1973 when he was elected President of the III Session of OPANAL General Conference, held in Mexico City. In 1979, he was the Vice President of the VI Session of the General Conference of the Agency, held in Quito, Ecuador. Subsequently, he was President of the delegation of Ecuador in the General Conferences of OPANAL in 1975 and 1997.

Dr. Martínez Cobo died on 9 February 2009. On 21 May 2009, the Council of OPANAL adopted Resolution C/Res.48, by means of which recognized the important efforts of Dr. Martínez Cobo as Secretary-General of the Agency.

 

 

Ambassador Héctor Gros Espiell (R.I.P.)
Secretary-General (1973 - 1981)

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Héctor Gros Espiell was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on 17 September 1926. In 1951, he graduated as Doctor of Law and Social Sciences at the University of Uruguay.

On 3 January 1973, Ambassador Gros Espiell was appointed OPANAL Secretary-General, replacing Ambassador Antonio González de León, who had served as Deputy Secretary-General following the resignation of Ambassador Leopoldo Benites Vinueza in 1971. After completing the four years period begun by Benites Vinueza, Ambassador Gros Espiell was re-elected as Secretary-General for another four-year term.

During his post as Secretary-General, he wrote two books on the Treaty of Tlatelolco: "En torno al Tratado de Tlatelolco y la Proscripción de las Armas Nucleares en la América Latina" (1973) and "El Derecho de los Tratados y el Tratado de Tlatelolco" (1974).

Upon finishing his duties as Secretary-General of OPANAL, he served as Judge of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labor Organization (1981-1990); Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (1985-1989), and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (1990-1992), among other positions.

Ambassador Gros Espeill died on 30 November 2009. On 8 April 2010, a Special Session of the Council was held in honor of Dr. Gros Espeill, in which Resolution C/Res.53 was adopted. It pays tribute for his outstanding performance as Secretary-General, as well as for its outstanding academic work on the issue of nuclear disarmament, particularly with regard to the Treaty of Tlatelolco and the development of OPANAL.

 

 

Ambassador Leopoldo Benites Vinueza (R.I.P.)
Secretary-General (1971)

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Leopoldo Benites Vinueza was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 17 October 1905. He graduated from the University of Guayaquil of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. He obtained an Honoris Causa Doctorate from the University of Montevideo, Uruguay.

On 1 January 1971, Ambassador Benites Vinueza became the first Secretary-General of OPANAL. However, in September 1971 he resigned as Secretary-General after having been appointed by his Government as a candidate for the Presidency of the United Nations General Assembly.

Among other several diplomatic positions, he was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador in Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in New York.

He repeatedly served as Chief of the Ecuadorian Delegation in the United Nations General Assembly. In 1965, he served as President of the Ecuadorian Delegation in the Preparatory Meeting for the Denuclearization of Latin America (REUPRAL), in the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America (COPREDAL) and in the Preliminary Meeting for the Constitution of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (REOPANAL). Ambassador Benites Vinueza was one of the most outstanding Latin American diplomats to negotiate the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

Ambassador Leopoldo Benites Vinueza died in 1996. In 1997, during its XI Special Session to commemorate the XXX Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the General Conference of OPANAL paid a posthumous tribute to Ambassador Benites Vinueza through the adoption of Resolution 348 (E- XI).

 

 

Acting and Deputy Secretaries-General

                             

Ambassador Perla Carvalho
Deputy Secretary-General (2008 - 2009)

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Ambassador Perla Carvalho joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1973.

During its XX Session, the General Conference of OPANAL resolved, through Resolution CG/Res.496 (XX), to designate Ambassador Perla Carvalho as Deputy Secretary-General, position that she held from 1 January 2008 to 26 November 2009.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States, she held the positions of Director of the Department of Americas from 1973 to 1978; She was Deputy Director of Specialized Agencies of the United Nations from 1980 to 1981; Director General for the United Nations System from 1996 to 1998. Abroad, she was commissioned in the Embassies of Mexico in Yugoslavia, United Kingdom, Belgium and Portugal. She also was Deputy Representative of Mexico to FAO, IFAD, WFP and UNIDROIT.

She was the Alternate Representative of Mexico to the Conference on Disarmament at Geneva (1989 - 1996). At that time she participated in the negotiations of the Convention for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

She was the Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the International Organizations based in Geneva (1999 - 2001) and Member, on a personal basis, of the Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (2003 - 2007).

She served as Diplomatic Adviser to the Presidency of the Republic from 2002 to 2003. Subsequently, she was Ambassador of Mexico to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and Permanent Representative to the Latin American Integration Association (2004-2007).

 

 

Ambassador Antonio González de León (R.I.P)
Deputy Secretary-General (1971 - 1976)

Antonio González de León Quintanilla was born in Mexico City on 11 December 1930. He completed his first university studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1955. He obtained the Diploma in International Affairs from the University of London in 1971.

On 15 October 1971, he replaced Ambassador Leopoldo Benites Vinueza, who resigned as Secretary-General of OPANAL when he was nominated by his government to occupy the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly.

Ambassador González de León served as Deputy Secretary-General of OPANAL until January 1976. On 29 January 1976, the Council of OPANAL adopted resolution C/Res.12 by means of which recognized the work of Ambassador González de León as Deputy Secretary-General of OPANAL.

 

 

Ambassador Carlos Peón del Valle (R.I.P.)
Acting Secretary-General (1969 - 1970)

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Carlos Peón del Valle was born in Mexico City on 22 May 1910. He studied Jurisprudence at the universities of Georgetown, Caracas, Santiago de Chile and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He joined the Diplomatic Service of Mexico at the age of 21 years.

During his diplomatic career, he held various positions and was assigned to several diplomatic missions in America and Europe. In 1960 he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Denmark. Later, in 1962, Ambassador Peón del Valle was appointed Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.

Ambassador Peón del Valle was elected Secretary-General of the Preliminary Meeting for the Denuclearization of Latin America (REUPRAL) in 1964. Later, in 1965, he was appointed to the same position by the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America (COPREDAL ), an assignment that lasted two years.

In June 1969, he was elected Secretary General of the Preliminary Meeting for the Constitution of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL). That same year, the First Session of the General Conference of OPANAL took place, where he was elected as Acting Secretary-General, a position he held from 8 September 1969 to 1 January 1971, until Ambassador Leopoldo Benites Vinueza took the position of Secretary-General.

Ambassador Peón del Valle died in 1978.