OAS Elects New Assistant Secretary General

WINDSOR, Canada – Ambassador Luigi Einaudi of the United States was elected today to the post of Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS General Assembly, which brings together the foreign ministers of the Americas, chose the veteran diplomat at the close of its annual meeting.

"Over the years, Ambassador Einaudi has been an outstanding diplomat and a great friend of the Americas," said OAS Secretary General C�sar Gaviria. "His extensive experience in the region will enrich the Organization’s work in the coming years."

Einaudi will succeed Assistant Secretary General Christopher Thomas of Trinidad and Tobago, who has served in the second-highest OAS post for two five-year terms.

Ambassador Einaudi works on multilateral governance and conflict resolution at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C. From 1995 to 1998, he was U.S. Special Envoy in the peace talks that led to a comprehensive settlement by Peru and Ecuador of their longstanding border dispute.

Earlier this year, serving as the OAS Secretary General’s Special Representative, he brokered an agreement between Honduras and Nicaragua for the separation of military forces while their maritime boundary dispute is before the International Court of Justice.

Ambassador Einaudi’s candidacy was put forward initially by Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and the United States, and later Honduras. Panama had also nominated its Ambassador to the OAS, Lawrence Chewning F�brega, to the post.

Einaudi retired from the U.S. State Department in 1997 after holding several key positions, including Director of Policy Planning for the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs (1977-1989) and U.S. Ambassador to the OAS (1989-1993).