Ricardo Díez Hochleitner (11 August 1928 – 1 April 2020) was a Spanish professor and economist. He got a BS Degree in Chemistry (Universidad de Salamanca, Spain), post-graduate Degree in Chemical Engineering (Technische Universität Karlsruhe, Germany) and MBA (Georgetown University, Washington D.C.). He served as the President of the Club of Rome from 1990 until 2000 and as Honorary President thereafter. Díez-Hochleitner was married to Ascensión Rodríguez Martínez and had 4 sons and 3 daughters. He was the father of Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner, who has served as Spain's Ambassador to Morocco since 2015.

Biography

From 1955 to 1956, Díez-Hochleitner was Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science in Spain. From 1956 to 1957, he was Deputy Minister of Education in

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 ...

. He also held management positions at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

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 the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

. He was vice-president of the

Club of Rome The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy. It consists ...

from 1988 to 1990, and President until 2000. In 1972, Díez-Hochleitner received the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts, awarded by the

Spanish Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture and Sport (MCD) is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for the promotion, protection and dissemination of the Spanish historical heritage, national museums, art, books, reading and literary creation, of ...

. From 1993 to 1998, Díez-Hochleitner was member of the advisory board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, where he pioneered the German-Spanish Forum. Following 2000, he was Honorary President of the Club of Rome and a member of its executive committee. He became adviser for 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 ...

to the University for Peace in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

in 2001. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, a member of the restructuring committee of

FRIDE The FRIDE (''Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior'', Spanish for "Foundation for International Relations and Foreign Dialogue") was an independent European think tank headquartered in Madrid and Brussels. As of 201 ...

, and a member of the board of directors of the EFE Foundation.

Awards

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

* Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise (1969) *Cross of Merit of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts (Spain)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Díez Hochleitner, Ricardo 1928 births 2020 deaths Spanish diplomats Members of the Cortes Españolas Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany University of Salamanca alumni