Francesc Vendrell i Vendrell (15 June 1940 – 27 November 2022) was a Spanish Catalan diplomat.

Biography

Vendrell got a Bachelor's degree in law at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

, continued studying at King's College in London and graduated in modern history at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He became director of the Academy of International Law in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in 1979. In 1968 he joined the diplomatic corps of the UN, where he was appointed head of the documentation services of the general secretariat for Europe and America from 1987 to 1992. Among other positions in the high body, he has been the personal

representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

of the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

in the peace processes of

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

(1989–1991),

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

(1990–1992) and

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

(1999). He has participated in diplomatic missions to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

(1992) and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

(1993), and was director of the political affairs division for East Asia and the Pacific (1993–1997) and of the combined Asia-Pacific division (1998–1999). In 1999 he was appointed head of the UN Secretary-General's Office for Political Affairs in Asia, the Pacific, America and Europe. From 2000 to 2002, he headed the UN special mission to Afghanistan ( UNSMA), and was later appointed representative of the European Union. In 2002 he received the

Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, ...

Award by the

Government of Catalonia The Executive Council of Catalonia ( ca, Consell Executiu) or the Executive Government of Catalonia (Catalan: ) is the Executive (government), executive branch of the Generalitat of Catalonia. It is responsible for the political action, regul ...

. Between 2002 and September 2008 he was appointed by the European Union as its Special Representative for Afghanistan. During the academic year of 2008-2009, he was visiting professor at the

Woodrow Wilson School The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

. Afterwards, he worked as an adjunct professor at the School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS),

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, Bologna campus.

Awards

(2002) * Member of the Order of St. Michael and St. George * Order of Wazir Akhbar Khan (Afghanistan) * Honorary Doctorate,

Ramon Llull University University Ramon Llull ( ca, Universitat Ramon Llull, URL; ) is a private university located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain established in 1990. Currently it is formed by several different colleges specialized in different topics, most of which ar ...

(2015) *

Ordem da Liberdade The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom ( pt, Ordem da Liberdade), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dig ...

(Order of Liberty, 2019)SAPO
''Ian Martin, Francesc Vendrell e Tamrat Samuel vão ser condecorados por Portugal em Timor'', August 21, 2019
, accessed 21 September 2019. * Ordem de Timor-Leste (2019)President of East Timor
''PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC BESTOWS UPON TEN INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES THE ORDER OF TIMOR-LESTE'', 1 September 2019
accessed 3 September 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vendrell i Vendrell, Francesc 1940 births 2022 deaths Spanish diplomats United Nations officials Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Recipients of the Order of Timor-Leste Princeton University faculty Yale University faculty Rutgers University faculty People from Barcelona