Susana Myrta Ruiz Cerutti (born 18 November 1940) is an Argentinian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, who occupied the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship (''canciller'') during the presidency of

Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after more than ...

, from 26 May to 8 July 1989. This made her the first woman in Argentina's history to reach the post of foreign minister.Biography
Fundación Konex. She previously served as deputy foreign minister from 1987 to 1989, when she became foreign minister, and later held other positions in that Ministry. During her diplomatic career she was also Argentinian ambassador to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

.''Un ascenso para la ex canciller'' ("Promotion for the ex-Chancellor")
''Clarín'', 10 November 2000.

Education and early career

Having graduated in law from the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

(UBA), Ruiz Cerutti practiced her profession until her entry to the

Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nación The Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nación ("Foreign Service Institute of the Nation", ISEN), is the Argentina, Argentine Government of Argentina, government's training institution for employees of the diplomatic service. It is dependent o ...

, from which she graduated in 1968 with a gold medal and Honors diploma.

Diplomatic career

Between 1972 and 1985 Ruiz Cerutti led or took part in several diplomatic missions that resolved the Beagle Channel dispute through papal mediation. She was Argentina's permanent representative at 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 ...

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 ...

(OAS), and represented Argentina in other organizations.''La diplomacia, también con mirada femenina'' ("Diplomacy, with a feminine outlook too")
''Clarín'', 4 November 2005. She also headed the Argentinian delegation in negotiations with Chile over boundary issues stemming from the

Laguna del Desierto incident The Laguna del Desierto incident occurred between four Chilean Carabineros and between 40 and 90 members of the Argentine National Gendarmerie and took place in an area south of O'Higgins/San Martín Lake on 6 November 1965, resulting in one lie ...

. After serving as legal advisor to Argentina's Foreign Ministry, she was appointed in 1987 as Secretary of State (''vicanciller'' – "vicechancellor", Deputy Foreign Minister). In May 1989 she was appointed by President

as Foreign Minister (''canciller'' – "chancellor"), in place of

Dante Caputo Dante Caputo (25 November 1943 – 20 June 2018) was an Argentine academic, diplomat and politician, who served as the nation's foreign minister under President Raúl Alfonsín. Academic activity Dante Mario Antonio Caputo was born in Buenos ...

. She held that position for six weeks, until the inauguration as President of

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...

, who appointed

Domingo Cavallo Domingo Felipe Cavallo (born July 21, 1946) is an Argentine economist and politician. Between 1991 and 1996 he was Economic Ministry of Argentina during Carlos Menem presidency. He is known for implementing the ''Convertibility plan'', which es ...

as her successor on 9 July. She then resumed the post of Secretary of State, until her appointment in 1991 as Argentine Ambassador to Switzerland: as such her credentials were also accepted in Liechtenstein. Later she was appointed Ambassador to Canada from 1998 to 1999. Between 1999 and 2000, she was Special Representative for Islas Malvinas (

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

) and Southern Atlantic Islands affairs, with the

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

of ambassador. In November 2000, she was appointed Secretary for Foreign Policy, replacing Enrique Candioti, during the presidency of

Fernando de la Rúa Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) was an Argentine politician and a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) political party who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1999 to 21 December 2001. De la Rúa was born in ...

. She was re-appointed Legal Adviser to the Foreign Ministry in 2001, a position she holds today. In that position she represented Argentina in the

Uruguay River pulp mill dispute The pulp mill dispute was a dispute between Argentina and Uruguay concerning the construction of pulp mills on the Uruguay River. The presidents at the time were Néstor Kirchner (Argentina) and Tabaré Vázquez (Uruguay). As a diplomatic, econom ...

, between 2006 and 2010, when the issue was before the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

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 ...

. She was the candidate favored by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

in November 2014 to take a place as judge at the

, but the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

's choice of Patrick Lipton Robinson prevailed in the final vote."UN General Assembly, Security Council Conclude Elections for "World Court' Judges"
States News Service. 17 November 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2017 from HighBeam Research

Awards and recognition

For her work resolving the "Laguna del Desierto" boundary dispute with Chile, Ruiz Cerutti was awarded the

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...

and the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. She twice won the

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...

, in 1998 and 2008, in the "Diplomacy" category. In April 2012 she was appointed as Honorary Member of the Argentine National Academy of Geography, lecturing on "Geography in disputes between states", bringing to bear her expertise in

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz Cerutti, Susana Argentine people of Italian descent Dames of St. Gregory the Great Argentine women ambassadors Ambassadors of Argentina to Canada Ambassadors of Argentina to Switzerland Female foreign ministers Foreign ministers of Argentina 1940 births Women government ministers of Argentina Living people Argentine women lawyers 20th-century Argentine lawyers

Education and early career

Diplomatic career

Awards and recognition

See also

References