Eduardo Arze Quiroga (6 January 1907 – 1 August 1989) was a Bolivian scholar, journalist, politician, and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1960 to 1962 in the second cabinet of
Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (2 October 1907 – 7 June 2001) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 45th president of Bolivia for three nonconsecutive and four total terms from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for pre ...
.
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...
Enrique Peñaranda
Enrique Peñaranda del Castillo (15 November 1892 – 22 December 1969) was a Bolivian general who served as the 38th president of Bolivia from 1940 until his overthrow in 1943. He previously served as commander-in-chief of the country's armed ...
and
Gualberto Villarroel
Gualberto Villarroel López (15 December 1908 – 21 July 1946) was a Bolivian military officer who served as the 39th president of Bolivia from 1943 to 1946. A reformist, sometimes compared with Argentina's Juan Perón, he is nonetheless ...
.
Early life
Eduardo Arze Quiroga was born on 6 January 1907 in
Cochabamba
Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 63 ...
, the son of Enrique Arze and Rita Quiroga. He studied Law at
University of San Simón
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, graduating in 1927 before later studying at the Faculty of Social and Political Science of the University of Rome. Between 1921 and 1932 he served as editor-in-chief of the
Cochabamba
Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 63 ...
newspaper ''El Republicano''. As a journalist, he was noted as an ardent supported of Daniel Salamanca. Participating as a seargeant in the
Chaco War
The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõ
Following his service, he worked as a professor at the University of San Simón Law School from 1937 and 1940. Between 1939 and 1940 he taught at the Superior War School in Cochabamba.
Diplomatic career
In 1940, Arze Quiroga was appointed private secretary of provisional President
Carlos Quintanilla
Carlos Quintanilla Quiroga (22 January 1888 – 8 June 1964) was a Bolivian general who served as the 37th president of Bolivia on a provisional basis from 1939 to 1940. Quintanilla saw action in the initial stages of the Chaco War (1932–1 ...
. When Quintanilla was appointed ambassador to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, Arze Quiroga accompanied him as secretary until 1941 when he himself was appointed
chargé d'affaires
A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
by President Enrique Peñaranda, a position he held until 1942.
Upon his return to Bolivia, Arze Quiroga emerged as a prominent leader of the
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( es, Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario , MNR) is a centre-right conservative political party in Bolivia and was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influen ...
. In December 1943 he was named Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by junta president Gualberto Villarroel. In 1944, he was
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...
as a deputy for Cochabamba in the 1944–1945 Constituent Assembly which drafted the 1945 Political Constitution of the Republic. While exercising these functions, he was again appointed Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He led the Bolivian delegation at the Chapultepec Conference and accompanied Foreign Minister José Celestino Pinto as a member of the Bolivian delegation at the 1945 San Francisco Conference (which established the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
, Arze Quiroga returned to politics, standing as the MNR candidate for Cochabamba senator and receiving 6,750 votes. He played a prominent role during the transition of the National Revolution which followed the annulment of those elections. From 1952 to 1954 he served as the Bolivian ambassador to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. He briefly returned to Bolivia in 1955 when he was named Rector of the Higher University of San Simón but returned to diplomacy as Ambassador to
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
between 1957 and 1959.
Finally, by Presidential Decree on 6 August 1960, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Víctor Paz Estenssoro. During his tenure, Arze Quiroga attended several international meetings and signed numerous agreements such as the Cultural Exchange Agreement with
on 23 January 1961, the Economic Cooperation Agreement with Colombia on 2 August 1961, and the Dual Nationality Agreement with
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
on 12 October 1961.
Having fulfilled his functions, Arze Quiroga resigned from his post as Foreign Minister on 8 January 1962 and was subsequently named Ambassador to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
until 1964. That year, he withdrew from public positions as a result of the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
which ousted the MNR from power in November. In 1973 he joined the Bolivian Academy of History, through presenting his thesis on the political philosophy of Daniel Salamanca, and began teaching History at
Higher University of San Andrés
Higher University of San Andrés (Universidad Mayor de San Andrés or UMSA or Major University of San Andrés) is the leading public university in Bolivia, established since 1830 in the city of La Paz. UMSA is the second-oldest university in Boli ...
in
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
.
When Víctor Paz Estenssoro returned to office in 1985, he entrusted Arze Quiroga as Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Bolivia in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. He remained in that diplomatic position for about two years.
Arze Quiroga died in La Paz in 1989.