Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

His Excellency Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Pérez de Cuéllar in 1982
5th Secretary-General of the United Nations
In office January 1, 1982 – December 31, 1991
Preceded by	Kurt Waldheim
Succeeded by	Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Prime Minister of Peru
In office November 22, 2000 – July 28, 2001
President	Valentín Paniagua
Preceded by	Federico Salas
Succeeded by	Roberto Dañino Zapata
Minister of Foreign Relations
In office November 22, 2000 – July 28, 2001
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Fernando de Trazegnies
Succeeded by	Diego García Sayán
Ambassador of Peru to France
In office 2002 – 31 December 2004
Ambassador of Peru to Poland
In office 1969–1971
Ambassador of Peru to the Soviet Union
In office 1969–1971
Ambassador of Peru to Switzerland
In office 1964–1966
Personal details
Born	Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar y de la Guerra (1920-01-19)January 19, 1920 Lima, Peru
Died	March 4, 2020(2020-03-04) (aged 100) Lima, Peru
Nationality	Peruvian
Spouse(s)	Yvette Roberts-Darricau ​ ​ (m. 1947, divorced)​ Marcela Temple Seminario ​ ​ (m. 1975; died 2013)​
Children	2 (by Roberts-Darricau)
Profession	Diplomat
Signature

Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra KCMG (/ˈpɛrɛs də ˈkweɪjɑː/;^[1] Spanish: [xaˈβjeɾ ˈperez ðe ˈkweʝaɾ];^[2] January 19, 1920 – March 4, 2020^[3][4]) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1991. He ran unsuccessfully against Alberto Fujimori for President of Peru in 1995 and following Fujimori's resignation over corruption charges, he was Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from November 2000 until July 2001. In December 2004, he stepped down from his position as Peru's Ambassador to France, where he formerly resided. He was also a member of the Club de Madrid, a group of more than 100 former Presidents and Prime Ministers of democratic countries, which works to strengthen democracy worldwide.^[5] At the age of 100 years, 45 days, at the time of his death in March 2020 Pérez de Cuéllar was both the oldest living former Peruvian prime minister and Secretary General of the United Nations.

Biography[]

Early years[]

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was born on January 19, 1920 in Lima to a wealthy family of Spanish descent with ancestry from Cuéllar.^[6][7] He studied in Colegio San Agustín of Lima, and then at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.^{[citation needed]}

Diplomatic career[]

Pérez de Cuéllar joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1940 and the diplomatic service in 1944, serving subsequently as Secretary at Peru's embassy in France, where he met and married his first wife in 1947, Yvette Roberts (1922–2013).^[8] He also held posts in the United Kingdom, Bolivia, and Brazil, and later served as ambassador to Switzerland, the Soviet Union, Poland, and Venezuela. From his first marriage, he has a son, Francisco, born in Paris, and a daughter, Águeda Cristina, born in London.^[9]

He was a junior member of the Peruvian delegation to the first session of the General Assembly, which convened in London in 1946, and a member of the delegations to the 25th through 30th sessions of the Assembly. In 1971, he was appointed permanent representative of Peru to the United Nations, and he led his country's delegation to all sessions of the Assembly from then until 1975.^{[citation needed]}

In 1973 and 1974, he represented his country in the Security Council, serving as its President at the time of the events in Cyprus in July 1974. On September 18, 1975, he was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus – a post he held until December 1977, when he rejoined the Peruvian Foreign Service. On October 29, 1975, in Cyprus, Mr. Pérez de Cuéllar married his second wife, the former Marcela Temple Seminario (August 14, 1933,^[10] – July 3, 2013)^[11][12] with whom he had no children.

On February 27, 1979, he was appointed as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs. From April 1981, while still holding this post, he acted as the Secretary-General's Personal Representative on the situation relating to Afghanistan. In that capacity, he visited Pakistan and Afghanistan in April and August of that year in order to continue the negotiations initiated by the Secretary-General some months earlier.^{[citation needed]}

United Nations Secretary-General[]

Pérez de Cuéllar and Iranian President Ali Khamenei in Tehran, 1987

On December 31, 1981, Pérez de Cuéllar succeeded Kurt Waldheim as Secretary-General and was re-elected for a second term in October 1986. During his two terms, he led mediations between the United Kingdom and Argentina in the aftermath of the Falklands War and promoted the efforts of the Contadora Group to bring peace and stability to Central America. He also interceded in the negotiations for the independence of Namibia, the conflict in Western Sahara between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the war between Croatian forces seeking independence and the Yugoslav People's Army as well as the local Serb forces, and the Cyprus issue. In 1986 he presided over an international arbitration committee that ruled^[13] on the Rainbow Warrior incident between New Zealand and France. In 1983, he initiated the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in order to unite countries to pursue sustainable development.^{[citation needed]}

Shortly before the end of his second term, he rejected an unofficial request by members of the Security Council to reconsider his earlier decision not to run for a third term, shortened to two years, as a search for his successor had not, as of then, yielded a consensus candidate.^{[citation needed]} A suitable candidate, Boutros Boutros Ghali of Egypt, was agreed upon in late December 1991, and his second term as Secretary-General concluded, as scheduled, on December 31, 1991.

Later life and death[]

Pérez de Cuéllar in 2008

On July 22, 2005, Pérez de Cuéllar suffered a heart attack and was admitted to a hospital in Paris; he was released on July 30. On June 19, 2017, with a lifespan of 35,581 days he surpassed Alfredo Solf y Muro (1872–1969) in terms of longevity and had the longest life of any Prime Minister in Peru's history.

Pérez de Cuéllar turned 100 in January 2020 and died in Lima on March 4, 2020, at age 100.^[14]

Honours and awards[]

• 1992: Freedom medal^{[15][circular reference]}
• Journalistic prize Golden Doves for Peace issued by the Italian Research Institute Archivio Disarmo^[16]
• US Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded in 1991 by George H.W. Bush, under section Other Political Figures.
• Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1991^[17]
• Member, Inter-American Dialogue^[18]
• Jawaharlal Nehru Award

He has received several honorary degrees : National University of San Marcos, Vrije Universiteit Brussel,^[19] Jagiellonian University,^[20] University of Cambridge,^[21] Université Laval, University of Valladolid, University of Salamanca, Université libre de Bruxelles, University of Coimbra, Humboldt University of Berlin, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas,^[22] University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, Charles University, Sofia University, Carleton University, Visva-Bharati University, Osnabrück University, National University of Mongolia, Moscow State University, University of Malta, Leiden University, La Salle University, Tufts University, Johns Hopkins University.^[23]

References[]

Sources[]

• George Bush Presidential Library & Museum

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

• Javier Perez de Cuellar papers at the United Nations Archives
• Official U.N.S.G. biography
• Javier Pérez de Cuéllar at IMDb
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Kurt Waldheim	United Nations Secretary-General 1982–1991	Succeeded by Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Political offices
Preceded by Federico Salas	Prime Minister of Peru 2000–2001	Succeeded by Roberto Dañino Zapata