Albert Leo (Alberto) van Klaveren Stork (born 27 October 1948) is a Dutch-born Chilean political scientist, lawyer and diplomat. He served as Assistant Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Chile between 2006 and 2009. Van Klaveren also represented Chile in the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

in the case regarding the

Chilean–Peruvian maritime dispute ''Peru v Chile'' (also called the Chilean–Peruvian maritime dispute) is a public international law case concerning a territorial dispute between the South American republics of Peru and Chile over the sovereignty of an area at sea in the Paci ...

. He currently teaches at the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

Early life

Van Klaveren's parents were Jewish World War II survivors in the Netherlands. In 1950 they decided to emigrate to Chile, bringing along their child Albert. Relatives of Van Klaveren's mother were already present in the country. Van Klaveren studied law at the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

. He earned a further MA degree in International Studies at the Graduate School of International Studies at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

and a degree in Political Science from

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

Career

In 1972 Van Klaveren started working for the University of Chile at the Institute for International Studies and the Faculty of Law. Between 1985 and 1992 he worked for the Institute for European-Latin American Relations, as well as the Instituto Universitario Ortega y Gasset, both located in Spain. Between 1988 and 1990 he was also an Associate Investigator at the Institute for Political Research at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. In 1992 he returned to Chile where he started working for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. He also took up his position at the Institute for International Studies again. He served as director of the institute for 18 months. Between 1996 and 2001 he was Director for Policy Planning at the Foreign Ministry. In May 2001 he was named the Chilean Ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Three years later, in 2004, the Chilean Ambassadies to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg merged and Van Klaveren became ambassador to all three. He served in this position until his appointment as Assistant Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 2006. He stayed on until 2009. He became the lawyer representing Chile before the

in the case regarding the

in 2008. After the decision in the case in January 2014 Van Klaveren stated that Chile regretted the decision of the Court. At the University of Chile he teaches International Relations and European International Relations. Since May 2015, he has been a board member of the U.S.-Chile Fulbright Commission.

Personal life

Van Klaveren speaks Spanish, English, Dutch and some French. He is married and he has two grown up children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van Klaveren, Alberto 1948 births Living people Dutch Jews Chilean Jews Chilean people of Dutch-Jewish descent Naturalized citizens of Chile University of Chile alumni University of Denver alumni Josef Korbel School of International Studies people Leiden University alumni University of Chile faculty Chilean diplomats Ambassadors of Chile to Belgium Ambassadors of Chile to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Chile to the European Union