Álvaro de Soto (born 16 March 1943) is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian diplomat. He ended a 25-year career with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in May 2007.

Early years and family

He is the brother of the economist Hernando de Soto. After attending the

International School of Geneva The International School of Geneva (in French: ''Ecole Internationale de Genève''), also known as "Ecolint" or "The International School", is a private, non-profit international school based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1924 in the servic ...

, de Soto studied law and international relations in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

and

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

prior to enlisting in his country's diplomatic corps. Prior to his secondment to the

, he worked for

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

's foreign ministry in Lima and at its UN missions in New York City and Geneva.

United Nations career

In 1982 he joined the United Nations staff as a special adviser to

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra (; ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Mini ...

. Following his appointment as the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for the Central American Peace Process, Ambassador de Soto headed the 1990–1991 negotiations that brought an end to the decade-long civil war in El Salvador. He was a Senior Political Adviser to Secretary-General

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...

from February 1992 to December 1994. He then served as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, in charge of the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, from 1995 to 1999. In 1997 Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

chose him as his Special Envoy for

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, a position he held until 1999.

Cyprus

On 1 November 1999 de Soto was selected as the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General; he held this post until the dismantling of the Special Mission to Cyprus following the April 2004 rejection of the Annan Plan for a Cypriot bizonal bicommunal federation divided along ethnic and religious lines.

Middle East

On 6 May 2005 he was appointed the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. In May 2007 he resigned from the position. He wrote a 53-page End of Mission statement, dated 5 May, "meant only for senior UN officials", with "wording far more critical than the public pronouncements of UN diplomats.

It was leaked to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and published on 13 June. De Soto has confirmed the authenticity of the ''Guardian'' text. He criticized both the Palestinian organizations

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...

and Fatah and the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i government, as well as the international community. He condemned the sanctions imposed by Israel, EU, and US, against Palestine after Hamas won the election

He warned "that American pressure has 'pummelled into submission' the UN's role as an impartial Middle East negotiator.

Other activities

Alvaro de Soto is a Member of the

Global Leadership Foundation The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization consisting of a network of former heads of state/government and other distinguished leaders (GLF Members), who seek to assist developing countries in improving gov ...

, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today’s national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

External links

Alvaro de Soto: End of Mission Report, 5 May 2007
''

'', 13 June 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soto, Alvaro De Peruvian diplomats 1943 births Living people Peruvian officials of the United Nations International School of Geneva alumni Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations