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Emilio Arenales Catalán (May 10, 1922 – April 17, 1969) was the foreign minister of Guatemala from 1966 to 1969 and the president of 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 harmonizi ...
Twenty-Third General Assembly from 1968 to 1969. He was born and died in
Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
.


Biography

Arenales was born in Guatemala City. He held the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Letters from the ''Instituto Modelo'' in
Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
(1932–1949) and Juridical Science from the ''
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC, ''University of San Carlos of Guatemala'') is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spani ...
'' (1940–1945). Arenales was married in 1946 to the former Lucy Dorion Cabarrus. They had four children: Rodrigo Arenales Dorion (1947–2002), Álvaro Arenales Dorion (b. 1949), María de la Luz Arenales de Aycinena (b. 1950) and María de los Ángeles Arenales de Willemsen (b. 1953).


Achievements at the United Nations

The following list details Catalán's major achievements during his time with the U.N. 1946: Associated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
). 1946: Founder and Head of Division of Relations of 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 harmonizi ...
and its specialized agencies. 1946-1948: Legal Counselor to the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
Preparatory Commission. 1946-1949: Deputy Head of Section of External Relations and External Relations Counselor for
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
. 1947:
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
Deputy Head of Mission to Latin America, together with Sir
Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthes ...
and Professor Samuel Ramos. The mission intended to visit each Latin American country and invite them to participate in the first
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
General Conference. 1947: Secretary Assistant to the External Relations Commission and Administrative Affairs at the I
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
General Conference,
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. 1948: Proposed the plan to organize the National Commissions of the member countries, based on the experience of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...
and the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation. When the plan was accepted, he was named Emissary to
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
, and visited a number of Latin American countries, promoting the creation and/or reorganization of National Commissions. 1948:
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
representative before the IX
Pan-American Conference The Conferences of American States, commonly referred to as the Pan-American Conferences, were meetings of the Pan-American Union, an international organization for cooperation on trade. James G. Blaine, a United States politician, Secretary ...
,
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, Colombia. 1948:
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
Head of Latin American Mission. 1948: Secretary-General of the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
International Conference of the Hylean Amazon, which met 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 t ...
,
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and Manaus,
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, having previously visited the participating governments in order to ensure their support and cooperation. 1948:
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General Secretary at the Regional Conference on Scientific Cooperation,
Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...
,
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. 1948: Secretary of External Relations Commission and Administrative Affairs at the II
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General Assembly,
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,
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. 1949-1954: Returned to Guatemala and engaged in private law practice. 1954-1955: Attended the IX and X
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...
as Delegate to the fifth and sixth sessions of the United Nations Committee on Non-Self-Governing Territories, in charge of the fourth commission, Colonial Affairs. 1955-1958: Ambassador and
Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World T ...
of Guatemala to the
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. 1955: Vice-President of the United Nations Committee on Non-Self-Governing Territories. 1955: Guatemalan
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 harmonizi ...
representative at the Special Session of the General Assembly, to commemorate its 10th anniversary,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. 1955: Chief of the Guatemalan Delegation before the X
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...
, Commission of Private Affairs. 1956: Chief of the Guatemalan Delegation before the XI
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; elected Chairman of the Commission for Political Affairs. 1956: Appointed President of the Financial Committee of the United Nations Committee on Non-Self-Governing Territories. 1956: President of the United Nations Committee on Non-Self-Governing Territories. (See
United Nations list of non-self-governing territories Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". In practice, an NSGT is a territory deemed by the United Nations Gene ...
.) 1957: Elected Chairman of the Political Affairs Commission and President of the Special Political Commission at the XII session of the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...
. 1957: Vice-President of the
United Nations Trusteeship Council The United Nations Trusteeship Council (french: links=no, Conseil de tutelle des Nations unies) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, established to help ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interest ...
. 1958: President of the
United Nations Trusteeship Council The United Nations Trusteeship Council (french: links=no, Conseil de tutelle des Nations unies) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, established to help ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interest ...
and President of the Group of Latin American Ambassadors before 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 harmonizi ...
. 1958-1966: Returned to Guatemala and engaged in private law practice until 1966, when he was appointed Foreign Minister of his country. 1968: President of 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 harmonizi ...
Twenty-Third General Assembly from 1968 to 1969.


References

United Nations biography
Biographical and Achievements information volunteered by Lucy Dorion, widow of Emilio Arenales, and posted by their grandson, Challen Willemsen (b. 1980). {{DEFAULTSORT:Arenales Catalan, Emilio Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly 1922 births 1969 deaths People from Guatemala City Permanent Representatives of Guatemala to the United Nations Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni Foreign ministers of Guatemala