Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez (born 5 September 1951 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

) is a Mexican psychiatrist, academician and politician who served as

Secretary of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

in the cabinet of President

Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was 61st president of Mexico from 1 December 1994 to 30 November 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from t ...

(1994–1999) and as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) from 1999 to 2007. He is currently a professor emeritus of Psychiatry at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and Chairs the Board of the '' Aspen Institute Mexico''. On 18 February 2019 he began his term as the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations.

Education

De la Fuente graduated from Medical School of

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

from the National Autonomous University in 1976 and trained in

Psychiatry Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...

at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. When he returned to Mexico he founded the Clinical Research Unit of the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry and joined the Faculty of UNAM's School of Medicine, where he was appointed Dean in 1991. In 1995 he was also elected President of the

Mexican Academy of Sciences The Mexican Academy of Sciences ''(Academia Mexicana de Ciencias)'' is a non-profit organization comprising over 1800 distinguished Mexican scientists, attached to various institutions in the country, as well as a number of eminent foreign colle ...

and a few years later he was appointed Secretary of Health by President Zedillo. In 1999, he resigned his cabinet post to be appointed

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and in 2003 he was reappointed for a second term. In 2008 he was elected President of the International Association of Universities at

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. It ...

and was called by Ban Ki-moon to be member of the Council of the

United Nations University The (UNU) is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve global issues related to human development and welfare thr ...

in Tokyo. He sits in several boards in México and abroad, such as '' El Universal'', an influential newspaper in

. Also, in 2008 he was elected as President of the International Association of Universities.

Awards and recognition

He has written over two hundred papers and fourteen books, and has received numerous awards and honorary degrees such as the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Mayo Clinic, the Presidential Award for Excellence of the University of Texas and a Doctorate on Humane Letters from Arizona State University, amongst many others. He also received from President Vicente Fox the

National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico) The National Prize for Arts and Sciences ( es, Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes) is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945. The prize is a gold medal ...

, the highest recognition of Mexico's Government. Dr. de la Fuente is one of the most respected figures in Mexican society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuente, Juan Ramon De La 1951 births Living people Mexican psychiatrists Mexican Secretaries of Health People from Mexico City National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Members of the Mexican Academy of Sciences National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico) Permanent Representatives of Mexico to the United Nations