Leopoldo Benites

Leopoldo Benites (far left) in 1973 in New York

Leopoldo Benites Vinueza (born October 17, 1905 in Guayaquil ; † March 12, 1995 ibid) was an Ecuadorian diplomat and President of the UN General Assembly from 1973 to 1974 .

Studies and professional activities

He completed his studies in political science and social sciences at the University of Guayaquil with a diploma. Leopoldo Benítes taught as a university professor. He also published various volumes of essays and poetry.

From 1944 to 1945 he was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Ecuador and worked on the constitution during that time .

diplomat

In 1947 he was first envoy to Uruguay and held this office until 1952. From October 1954 to January 1956 he was ambassador to Bolivia and then to November 1956 ambassador to Argentina . He held this office until his appointment as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in August 1960. During these years he was also a frequent delegate of his country at conferences of the Latin American states.

Promotion to President of the UN General Assembly

From January 1953 to June 1954 he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the UN.

Benítes became Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in October 1960 . At the same time he represented his home country as a member of the UN Security Council from October 1960 to December 1961. In addition, from 1961 to 1970 he held several other offices in committees and councils of the UN, most recently in 1970 as Vice President of the 25th session of the UN -General Assembly.

On September 18, 1973 he was elected as the successor to Stanisław Trepczyński as President of the UN General Assembly and chaired the 28th session and the 6th special session before he was replaced on September 17, 1974 by Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika . On the very first day of his presidency in 1973, Dr. Benítes the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany as members of the United Nations.

Publications

• “La mala hora y El enemigo” (1927, short stories), PDF
• "Un Zapador de la Colonia" (biography of Eugenio Espejo )
• "Argonautas de la selva: los descubridores del Amazonas" (1945, biography about the discoverer of the Amazon, Francisco de Orellana )
• "Ecuador: drama y paradoja" (1950, social and economic studies; fourth edition 2005 available as PDF from the Comisión Nacional Permanente de Conmemoraciones Cívicas of the Ecuadorian government at http://www.conmemoracionescivicas.gov.ec/obras/dramayparadoja. pdf )

Awards

• Grand Cross of the National Order "Al Merito" (Ecuador)
• Grand Officer of the Order of "San Lorenzo" (Ecuador)
• Grand Cross of the Order "De Mayo" (Argentina)
• Grand Cross of the Order "Condor de los Andes" (Bolivia)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico)
• Grand Cross of the Order "Isabela La Catolica" (Spain)
• Doctor honoris causa from the University of Montevideo (Uruguay)

Web links

• Biography on the homepage of the UN
• List of publications
• Issue 43 of the AFESE magazine of the Association of Foreign Service Employees of Ecuador with several homages to Benítes on the occasion of his 100th birthday (2005; Spanish)