SECRETARY GENERALS

The Secretary General is elected from among his peers and is the highest-ranking administrative official of the Agency. The Secretary General will occupy the post during a four-year period and can be re-elected for one additional term. The post cannot be occupied by a national of the host country (Mexico). The Secretary General is charged with ensuring the proper operation of the Control System established by the Treaty of Tlatelolco (Article 10, paragraph 5). In addition to the responsibilities conferred upon him by the Treaty of Tlatelolco and those assigned by the General Conference, the Secretary General is present at all General Conference and Council sessions and presents annual report on the activities of the Agency as well as special reports as requested by the General Conference and Council or that the Secretary General himself considers necessary.

EDMUNDO VARGAS CARREÑO
Secretary General of OPANAL
(1 June 2001 - 30 June 2007)
email: edmundovargasc@gmail.com

Born on April 22, 1937, in Viña del Mar, Chile.

FORMAL TRAINING: Studied Law at the Universidad Católica de Valparaiso (1955-1960). Obtained a law degree in Juridical and Social Sciences with highest distinction. Postgraduate studies at the Istituto di Diritto e Politica Internazionale della Universita degli Studi Sociali di Roma, Italy (1961-1962). Graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political and International Law.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER: Lawyer (1961), Legal Adviser, with the rank of Ambassador, of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1966-1970), Director of the Academia Diplomática Andrés Bello of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1968-1970), Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (1977-1990), Under-Secretary (Vice Minister) of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (March 1990-May 1993), Ambassador of Chile to the Republic of Argentina (June 1993- May 1994), Chilean Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (June 1994- June 1997), Ambassador of Chile to the Republic of Costa Rica (July 1997-June 2000). Secretary General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) (1 June 2001- 30 June 2007).

At present the Ambassador Vargas is a Member of the International Law Commission.

SPEECHES

ENRIQUE ROMÁN-MOREY
Secretary General of OPANAL
(January 1, 1994 to December 31, 2000)
email: eromanmorey@hotmail.com

Born in the city of El Callao, Peru. He is a Career Diplomat with the Foreign Service of the Republic of Peru and a graduate of the Peruvian Diplomatic Academy (1970). Secretary General of OPANAL (1 January 1994 to 31 December 2000. Deputy Secretary General of the Disarmament Conference and Director of the Disarmament Office of the United Nations in Geneva

Ambassador Roman-Morey has coordinated and participated as a speaker at the OPANAL Seminar on "The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty: Latin American and Caribbean Perspectives" held in Cancun, Mexico, 1995; the Seminar on the "IAEA Safeguards Regime" in Kingston, Jamaica, 1996; the Seminar on "Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in the Next Century" in Mexico City, 1997; and the Seminar on "Disarmament and Security: A New Latin American and Caribbean Agenda for the Next Millennium" in Lima, Peru, 1999. In addition, he has spoken at numerous International Seminars and Roundtables and in academic and university fora in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. The Ambassador is a member of the Core Group of the Programme for Promoting Nuclear Nonproliferation (PPNN) and is the only representative from Latin America of the group of 15 international-level experts. He has participated in several Conferences of the Pugwash Organization, winner of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for its work toward world disarmament and the elimination of nuclear weapons. The Ambassador is also a member of the Mexican Academy of International Law since 1997,having been distinguished as Doctor Honoris Causa in International Law. Recently, he has been elected on his own capacity, Member of the Board of Directors of Lawyers Alliance for World Security (LAWS) of the US Lawyers Council in Washington, D.C.

At present he is the Peruvian Ambassador to Cuba.

ANTONIO STEMPEL PARIS
Secretary General of OPANAL January 1986 - December 1993

Antonio Stempel Paris was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He received a Doctorate in Political Science from the Central University of Venezuela in 1949. He was elected Secretary General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL) during the IV Special Session of the General Conference to replace Ambassador Jose R. Martinez Cobo, who resigned as Secretary General after being reelected to a second term.

Pursuant to Article 66 of the Regulations of the General Conference, Dr. Stempel Paris was elected to finish the term of office or Ambassador Martinez Cobo. During its XI Regular Session, held in Mexico City in April 1989, the General Conference reelected Dr. Stempel Paris for an additional four-year term. He has written various essays and monographs.

After completing his second term of office, Dr. Stempel Paris was replaced by Ambassador Enrique Roman-Morey in January 1993.

JOSE R. MARTINEZ COBO
Secretary General of OPANAL
(July 1981 - December 1985)

Jose R. Martinez Cobo, a native of Ecuador, received a Doctorate in Jurisprudence and Social Sciences from the Central University of Ecuador in 1945. After joining the Ecuadorian Foreign Service, He was posted as Ecuadorian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Colombia, Uruguay, and Chile, among a number of other assignments throughout his career.

Ambassador Martinez Cobo first became involved with OPANAL in 1973, when he was elected chairman of the III Regular Session of the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL), in Mexico City. Subsequently, he served as the President of two Ecuadorian delegations to the General Conference of OPANAL in 1975 and 1977. Then in 1979, he served as the alternate Chairman of the General Conference of OPANAL held in Quito, Ecuador.

Ambassador Martinez Cobo assumed the position of Secretary General of OPANAL on July 1, 1981. In 1985, the General Conference reelected him for a second term, however Ambassador Martinez Cobo announced that he would step down as Secretary General beginning December 31, 1985. In order to elect a new Secretary General, who would begin work on January 1, 1986, the General Conference held a special session on October 22, 1985, in which the Government of Venezuela presented the candidacy of Dr. Antonio Stempel Paris for the post of Secretary General.

HECTOR GROS ESPIELL
Secretary General of OPANAL
(January 1973 - June 1981)

Hector Gros Espiell was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on September 17, 1926. In 1951, he graduated with a Doctorate Degree in Law from the University of Montevideo.

On January 3, 1973, Ambassador Gros Espiell became the Secretary General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL), replacing Antonio Gonzalez de Leon who had temporarily occupied the post after the renunciation of Leopoldo Benites Vinueza in 1971. After finishing the term of office initiated by Benites Vinueza in 1975, Ambassador Gros Espiell was reelected to a second term, which was later extended to allow him to remain at the post for a total of eight years.

During his tenure as secretary general, Ambassador Gros Espiell authored two works on the Treaty of Tlatelolco: En torno al Tratado de Tlatelolco y la Proscripción de las Armas Nucleares en la América Latina, in 1973, and El Derecho de los Tratados y el Tratado de Tlatelolco, in 1974.

Since finishing his tenure at OPANAL in 1981, Ambassador Gros Espiell has served as a judge on the Administrative Tribunal of the ILO (1981-1990), Director of the Inter American Institute of Human Rights (1985-1989), and Uruguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990-1992), among other callings.

At present he is the Uruguayan Ambassador to France.

ANTONIO GONZALEZ DE LEON
Acting Secretary General of OPANAL
(April 1971 - January 1976)

Antonio Gonzalez de Leon Quintanilla was born in Mexico City on December 11, 1930. He began his university studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and graduated from the University of London in International Relations in 1971. After passing the entrance exam, he joined the Mexican Diplomatic Corps in 1955.

On October 15, 1971, he replaced Ambassador Leopoldo Benites Vinueza, who stepped down as Secretary General of OPANAL at the invitation of his government to preside at the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Antonio Gonzalez de Leon Quintanilla served as Acting Secretary General til January 1976.

CARLOS PEON DEL VALLE
Secretary General ad interim
(September 1969 - January 1970)

Carlos Peon del Valle was born in Mexico City on May 22, 1910. He studied law in the universities of Georgetown, Caracas, Santiago de Chile, and the Autonomous University of Mexico. At the age of 21, he joined the Mexican Diplomatic Corps.

Throughout his career, he served in different capacities and was assigned to diplomatic posts in the Americas and Europe. In 1960, he was made the Mexican ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Denmark. Then, in 1962, Ambassador Peon del Valle was named director-in-chief of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During his tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Ambassador Peon del Valle was elected secretary general of the Preliminary Meeting for the Denuclearization of Latin America in Mexico City in 1964. Later in 1965, once again he assumed the position of secretary general of the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America, an appointment that lasted for two years.

In June 1969, he was called upon again to act as secretary general of the Preliminary Meeting for the establishment of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL). Later that year, the first regular session of the General Conference of OPANAL was held. However, due to the short amount of time between the Preliminary Meeting and the first regular session, no candidate for the post of secretary general was selected as stipulated in Article 11 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco. At the request of the General Conference, the Government of Mexico appointed Ambassador Carlos Peon del Valle as secretary general ad interim, a position that he held from September 8, 1969 to January 1, 1971, when Ambassador Leopoldo Benites Vinueza occupied the post. Ambassador Peon del Valle died in 1978.

LEOPOLDO BENITEZ VINUEZA
Secretary General of OPANAL
(January 1971 - October 1971)

Leopoldo Benites Vinueza was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on October 17, 1905. He graduated from the University of Guayaquil with a diploma in Political and Social Science. He also received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of Montevideo.

Among his many diplomatic assignments, Ambassador Benites Vinueza served as ambassador to Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and the United Nations. He also served as chairman of the Ecuadorian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly several times throughout his career. In 1965, Ambassador Benites Vinueza served as chairman of the Ecuadorian delegation to the II Preparatory Meeting for the Denuclearization of Latin America held in Mexico City. Then, in June 1969, he served as the main representative from Ecuador to the Preliminary Meeting for the creation of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL) held in Mexico City.

On January 1, 1971, Ambassador Benites Vinueza became the first official Secretary General of OPANAL, replacing Carlos Peon del Valle, who had occupied the post temporarily. However, Ambassador Benites Vinueza would only be at the head of OPANAL for a short time. In September 1971, he resigned as Secretary General after being designated by the Government of Ecuador as a candidate for the chairmanship of the General Assembly of the United Nations. He was replaced temporarily by Antonio Gonzalez de Leon on October 15, 1971. Leopoldo Benites Vinueza died in 1996.

In 1997, at its XI Special Session commemorating the XXX Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the General Conference of OPANAL paid posthumous tribute to Ambassador Benites Vinueza by passing Resolution 348 (E-XI).