Gert Rosenthal

Gert Rosenthal Königsberger (born 11 September 1935) is a Guatemalan diplomat.

Gert Rosenthal
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala
In office
25 July 2006  14 January 2008
PresidentÓscar Berger
Preceded byJorge Briz
Succeeded byHaroldo Rodas
Secretary (Minister) of National Planning of Guatemala
In office
1973–1974
In office
1969–1970
Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations
In office
14 January 2008  8 September 2014
Succeeded byFernando Carrera
In office
22 March 1999  25 July 2004
United Nations Executive Secretary for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
In office
January 1988  December 1997
Preceded byNorberto González
Succeeded byJosé Antonio Ocampo
Personal details
Born (1935-09-24) 24 September 1935
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
NationalityGuatemalan - German
Alma materUniversidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
University of California at Berkeley
ProfessionDiplomat and Economist

He was born in Amsterdam to a German father and Guatemalan mother and came to Guatemala at the age of three. After secondary education in Guatemala, he studied in the United States and received a BA and an MA in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. He then pursued further studies in economics at San Carlos University in Guatemala City.

He entered government service in 1960 as a part-time economist at the National Planning Secretariat. In 1964 he was appointed representative of Guatemala on the Executive Council of the Central American Common Market, rising to Assistant to the Secretary-General of the Common Market's Secretariat in 1967. Between 1969 and 1970 he headed the National Planning Secretariat, a ministerial-level position. In 1971 he was named a fellow at the Adlai Stevenson Institute for International Affairs in Chicago, United States. Between 1972 and 1973 he directed a project in Guatemala for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), intended to promote the Central American Common Market. In 1973-74 he again headed the National Planning Secretariat.

In 1998, he was a member of the Oversight Commission of the Guatemalan Peace Accords.

Tenure at United Nations

Between 1974 and 1985 he was the Director of the Mexico-based subregional office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). In 1985, was promoted to Deputy Executive Secretary at ECLAC's headquarters in Santiago, Chile, and, in 1988, to Executive Secretary, with responsibility for the entire Latin America and Caribbean region.

In 1999, he was appointed Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations, where he remained until 2004. In August 2006, following the resignation of Jorge Briz, President Óscar Berger appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position where he remained until the end of Berger's term on January 14, 2008. In April 2008 he was re-appointed Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations.

Rosenthal was President of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA (United Nations Development Programme / United Nations Population Fund) in 2001, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2003,[1] Vice-President of the Executive Board of UNICEF in 2008, Vice-President of the Peacebuilding Commission in 2011 and Chair of the Fifth Committee on two occasions (2001 and 2011).

In 2011, Guatemala was selected for a two-year rotating term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2012-2013 term. Guatemala was unanimously supported for this role and many UN officials saw this as a recognition of Gert Rosenthal as among the most respected diplomats at the UN. In October 2012, he was the President of the United Nations Security Council.

Currently Rosenthal is the Chair of the Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture started in January 2015.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

References

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