Jorge Enrique Illueca Sibauste (September 17, 1918 – May 3, 2012) was a

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

nian politician and diplomat who served as

President of Panama This article lists the heads of state of Panama since the short-lived first independence from the Republic of New Granada in 1840 and the final separation from Colombia in 1903. Free State of the Isthmus (1840–1841) Republic of Panama (1 ...

in 1984. Illueca was born in

Panama City, Panama Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...

. He attended the

University of Panama The University of Panama ( es, Universidad de Panamá) was founded on October 7, 1935. Initially, it had 175 students learning education, commerce, natural sciences, pharmacy, pre-engineering or law. , it had 74,059 students distributed in 228 b ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

(Doctor of Law, 1955). He became one of the most important lawyers in his country, taught as a professor at the University of Panama, and by the 1970s had begun his diplomatic career, at first working at 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 harmoniz ...

on international law issues. He served as Ambassador of Panama to the United Nations from 1976 to 1981, and as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

of Panama from 1981 to 1983. In 1982 he was elected

Vice President of Panama The vice president of Panama is the second-highest political position in the Government of Panama. Since 2009, the position of Vice President has been held by only one person. Before 1945 there were positions of presidential designates elected ...

, and served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

for a few months in 1984 following the president's resignation until new elections in which he did not run. Also during this time, he was president of the UN General Assembly from 1983 to 1984. He served as a member of th
Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague
from 1974-1990 and as a member of the United Nations

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

three times (1982–1986, 1987–1991 and 1997–2001). He continued to work for the United Nations, particularly on environmental issues. He was known to be an outspoken opponent of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

School of the Americas The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, renamed in the 2001 National Defen ...

, which he called "the biggest base for destabilization in Latin America.” During the remarkable life of Dr. Illueca, time was made for his family; a family that certainly grew to be very large. His first daughter, Irene, had one son (Daniel King) through her first marriage. She remarried and later adopted 2 of her grandchildren (Christian and Skyla). His eldest son Jorge Jr had 3 children from his first marriage (David, Jorge Jr Jr and Angelica.) And later on five more came along from his second marriage (Helena, Emilia, Cecilia, Christa, and Eliza) Johnson, Chalmers. The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secret, and the End of the Republic

References

1918 births 2012 deaths People from Panama City Panamanian Roman Catholics Presidents of Panama Vice presidents of Panama Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly Permanent Representatives of Panama to the United Nations Panamanian officials of the United Nations International Law Commission officials Harvard University alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Panama alumni University of Panama faculty {{Panama-diplomat-stub