Álvaro de Soto Polar (born 16 March 1943) is a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian diplomat. He ended a 25-year career with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in May 2007.

Early years and family

He is the brother of the economist

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

. After attending the International School of Geneva, de Soto studied law and international relations in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

at the University of San Marcos and in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

at the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

prior to enlisting in his country's diplomatic corps. Prior to his secondment to the

, he worked for Peru's foreign ministry in Lima and at its UN missions in New York City and Geneva.

United Nations career

In 1982 he joined the United Nations staff as a special adviser to

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra ( , ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth secretary-general of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as prime min ...

. Following his appointment as the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for the Central American Peace Process, Ambassador de Soto headed the 1990–1991 negotiations that brought an end to the decade-long civil war in

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. He was a Senior Political Adviser to Secretary-General

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992 to 1996. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Boutros-Gha ...

from February 1992 to December 1994. He then served as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, in charge of the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, from 1995 to 1999. In 1997 Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

chose him as his Special Envoy for

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, a position he held until 1999.

Cyprus

On 1 November 1999 de Soto was selected as the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, with the rank of

Under-Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

; he held this post until the dismantling of the Special Mission to Cyprus following the April 2004 rejection of the Annan Plan for a Cypriot bizonal bicommunal federation divided along ethnic and religious lines.

Middle East

On 6 May 2005 he was appointed the

United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, formerly known as the United Nations Special Coordinator (UNSCO), "represents the Secretary-General and leads the UN system in all political and diplomatic efforts related to ...

. In May 2007 he resigned from the position. He wrote a 53-page End of Mission statement, dated 5 May, "meant only for senior UN officials", with "wording far more critical than the public pronouncements of UN diplomats"

It was leaked to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and published on 13 June. De Soto has confirmed the authenticity of the ''Guardian'' text. He criticized both the Palestinian organizations

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

and

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

and the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i government, as well as the international community. He condemned the sanctions imposed by Israel, EU, and US, against Palestine after Hamas won the election

He warned "that American pressure has 'pummelled into submission' the UN's role as an impartial Middle East negotiator.

Other activities

Álvaro de Soto is a Member of the

Global Leadership Foundation The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization consisting of a network of former heads of state/government and other distinguished leaders (GLF Members), who seek to assist developing countries in improving gov ...

, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today’s national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

External links

Alvaro de Soto: End of Mission Report, 5 May 2007
''

'', 13 June 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soto, Alvaro De Peruvian diplomats 1943 births Living people Peruvian officials of the United Nations International School of Geneva alumni Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni