Joaquín Demetrio Casasús (23 December 1858 – 25 February 1916), a Mexican economist, lawyer, banker, politician, diplomat and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

who served on two occasions as

Ambassador of Mexico to the United States The ambassador of Mexico to the United States is the highest ranking diplomatic representative of the United Mexican States to the United States of America. Brief history Mexico and the United States have maintained diplomatic relations since 1 ...

. During the

Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...

, he was a prominent member of the Cíentificos, a group of technocrat advisors to President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

. A noted

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, he participated in the commissions to draft the Commercial Code (1889), the

Banking Law Banking regulation and supervision refers to a form of financial regulation which subjects banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, enforced by a financial regulatory authority generally referred to as banking supervisor, with ...

(1897) and the Monetary Law (1905); however, his most notable work as a lawyer was obtaining the ruling favorable to Mexico in the

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

with the United States in the

Chamizal dispute The Chamizal dispute was an international land and boundary conflict over contested land (estimates range from ) along the Mexico–United States border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The conflict was caused by multiple ...

. During his career, he represented Mexico in several international banking congresses. He was also a member of the

Academia Mexicana de la Lengua The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (variously translated as the Mexican Academy of Language, the Mexican Academy of the Language, the Mexican Academy of Letters, or glossed as the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language; acronym AML) is the cor ...

, joining in 1904, and serving president from 1912 until his death. In 1914, during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, his

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

Paseo de la Reforma Paseo de la Reforma (literally "Promenade of La Reforma, the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Maximilian of Mexico, Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig d ...

was occupied by the troops of General

Lucio Blanco Lucio Blanco (July 21, 1879 – June 1922) was a Mexican military officer and revolutionary, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1920. Biography Lucio Blanco was born on July 21, 1879, in Nadadores, Coahuila. H ...

; Casasús died in

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

in New York City in 1916.

Studies and academia

He studied law at the Escuela Nacional de Jurisprudencia of

México Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. After graduating he was made Secretary of State of

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

. At the same time, he was a professor of law and economics at the Universidad de México. During his lifetime he participated in the writing of the Mexican

Code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

of Commerce of 1889 and the Law of Creditary Institutions and

Monetary Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: med ...

Laws .

Career

In 1892 he represented Mexico at the

International Monetary Conference The International Monetary Conference (IMC) is a non-profit organization that convenes a yearly gathering of senior financial industry executives. It has been described as "an annual conference of the CEOs of the largest banks around the world". O ...

held in Brussels (Belgium). In addition, he was a Federal

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

and in 1902, he was elected president of the

Mexican Congress The Congress of the Union (, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico. It consists of two chambers: t ...

. In 1911, he was designated by President

as president of the Arbitration Commission regarding the U.S- Mexican

. Along with fellow Federal

, Manuel R. Uruchurtu, he managed to win the definite ruling of King Victor Emanuel II of Italy, in favor of Mexico and against the United States, thus establishing that the

Río Bravo The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States and in northern ...

was Mexican and not part of the border. During his life he wrote a great deal of books specially in topics of law and

monetary Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: med ...

economics and politics

Publications

*''La reforma monetaria en Mexico: Informes presentados á la Comisión Monetaria'' (1905) *''The Pan-American conferences and their significance'' (1906) *''Mexico'' (1911) *''Cayo Valerio Catulo: su vida y sus obras'' (1904) with Victoriano Salado Alvarez *''Gaius Valerius Catullus'' (1906) *''Las reformas a la Ley de Instituciones de crédito'' (1908)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casasus, Joaquin Demetrio 1858 births 1916 deaths Ambassadors of Mexico to the United States Mexican writers Mexican lawyers Mexican bankers