Thursday, February 09, 2012
As Argentina grows more vocal in its criticism of British plans to drill for oil in the waters around the disputed Falklands Islands (called by Argentines the Islas Malvinas), the South American nation has sent a new ambassador to the U.S. who is well known for his advocacy of Argentina’s claims to the islands over which Argentina and the U.K. fought a brief war in 1982. Jorge Argüello is a politician and former representative to the United Nations who attended high school in the U.S. and is also well known internationally for his support for measures to reverse global warming.
Born on April 20, 1956, in Cordoba, Argentina, Argüello soon moved with his family to Neuquen Province, where he lived until attending high school at Rochester Community High School in Rochester, Indiana, from which he graduated in 1974. Argüello returned to Argentina to earn a Law degree at the University of Buenos Aires in 1985 and later a Master’s degree in public administration at the University of San Andrés.
Early on, Argüello became involved in Peronism, a left-of-center populist Argentine political movement, and was elected in 1987 to the Buenos Aires City Council and then to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, where he served from 1991 to 1995. In 1994, Argüello served as host organizer of the first official visit to Argentina of a British Parliamentary delegation since the Falklands War of 1982, and later represented Latin America in the 1994-95 meeting of the organization Parliamentarians for Global Action.
Leaving the Chamber of Deputies after one term, Argüello was elected to the 1996 convention to amend the Constitution of the City of Buenos Aires, and served as president of the Peronist bloc during the convention. In 1997, Argüello was elected to the newly-created Legislative Assembly of the City of Buenos Aires, where he served two three-year terms, from December 4, 1997 to December 10, 2003. Elected again to the Chamber of Deputies, Argüello served from December 10, 2003 to June 18, 2007, becoming chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in 2005 and organizing the office of the Parliamentary Observer for the Falkland Islands. Argüello also served as Vice President of the Peace and Security Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 2006 and 2007.
Perhaps in recognition of Argüello’s work on the Falklands issue, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner appointed Argüello Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations in June 2007. At the U.N., Argüello continued to press Argentine claims to the Falklands, and created controversy in 2011 by contending that the British government had exempted the territory from austerity-driven budget cuts to prevent emigration to Argentina, which was not cutting its budget. British officials denied this claim.
Argüello was appointed chairman of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization in 2008, and of the Group of 77 for their 2011 session. His tenure was highlighted by his support for the Kyoto Protocol for reducing global warming. President Cristina Kirchner named him ambassador to the United States in November 2011, and he presented his credentials to President Barack Obama on January 18, 2012.
Argüello is married to journalist Erika Grinberg and has four children.
-Matt Bewig
Cristina designó a Jorge Argüello como embajador en EE (by Clarín.com) (in Spanish)
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