Celso Amorim
Encyclopedia
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazil
ian diplomat
who has been Minister of Defence
since August 2011. Amorim was the Minister of Foreign Relations
from 1993 to 1995 under President
Itamar Franco
and again from 2003 to 2011 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
.
Before his appointment by Lula, Amorim served as Brazil's ambassador
to the United Kingdom
. On 7 October 2009, Amorim was named the "world's best foreign minister" by Foreign Policy
magazine blogger David Rothkopf. On 4 August 2011, Amorim was invited by President Dilma Rousseff
to assume the Ministry of Defence
.
, São Paulo
, on 3 June 1942. He is married to Ana Maria Amorim and has four children: Vicente, Anita, João, and Pedro.
He graduated from the Rio Branco Institute
, an undergraduate school of international relations
run by the Ministry of External Relations, in 1965, and obtained his post-graduate degree in International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in 1967.
Amorim was a Portuguese language
professor at the Rio Branco Institute, as well as political science
and international relations professor at the University of Brasília
. He is a permanent member of the Foreign Affairs Department of the University of São Paulo
Institute of Advanced Studies.
to the United Nations
. Most notably, he represented Brazil on the Kosovo
– Yugoslavia
sanctions
committee
in 1998, and the Security Council
panel on Iraq
in 1999. Amorim was named as Brazil's permanent ambassador to the United Nations and the WTO
later that year, and served for two years before taking assignment as the ambassador to the United Kingdom in 2001.
. This brought a swift condemnation from the U.S. State Department
.
to replace Nelson Jobim
as Minister of Defence
. Jobim's resignation came after he called Ideli Salvatti, Secretary of Institutional Relations, weak and criticized Gleisi Hoffmann
, Rousseff's chief of staff, as someone who "doesn't even know Brasília
". Jobim had increasingly expressed his displeasure with the government. He had said that he was surrounded by "idiots" in the administration and angered government colleagues even further after he admitted in an interview that he had voted for José Serra
, Rousseff's main opponent in the presidential election.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
who has been Minister of Defence
Ministry of Defence (Brazil)
The Ministry of Defence of Brazil, is the civilian cabinet organization responsible for managing the Military of Brazil. It is headed by the Minister of Defence....
since August 2011. Amorim was the Minister of Foreign Relations
Ministry of External Relations (Brazil)
The Ministry of External Relations conducts Brazil's foreign relations with other countries. It is commonly referred to in Brazilian media and diplomatic jargon as the Itamaraty, after the palace which hosts the ministry...
from 1993 to 1995 under President
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
Itamar Franco
Itamar Franco
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco was a Brazilian politician and the President of Brazil from December 29, 1992, to January 1, 1995. During his long political career, Franco was also a Senator, Mayor, Ambassador, Governor and Vice President...
and again from 2003 to 2011 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
.
Before his appointment by Lula, Amorim served as Brazil's ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. On 7 October 2009, Amorim was named the "world's best foreign minister" by Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
magazine blogger David Rothkopf. On 4 August 2011, Amorim was invited by President Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff is the 36th and current President of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to that, in 2005, she was also the first woman to become Chief of Staff of Brazil, appointed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva....
to assume the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (Brazil)
The Ministry of Defence of Brazil, is the civilian cabinet organization responsible for managing the Military of Brazil. It is headed by the Minister of Defence....
.
Personal life and academic career
Amorim was born in SantosSantos (São Paulo)
-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
, São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, on 3 June 1942. He is married to Ana Maria Amorim and has four children: Vicente, Anita, João, and Pedro.
He graduated from the Rio Branco Institute
Rio Branco Institute
The Rio Branco Institute is a graduate school of International Relations and diplomatic academy located in Brasília, Brazil. The institute was created on April 18, 1945, as part of the centennial celebration of the birth of the Baron of Rio Branco...
, an undergraduate school of international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
run by the Ministry of External Relations, in 1965, and obtained his post-graduate degree in International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in 1967.
Amorim was a Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
professor at the Rio Branco Institute, as well as political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and international relations professor at the University of Brasília
University of Brasília
The University of Brasília , is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian public universities funded by the Brazilian federal government...
. He is a permanent member of the Foreign Affairs Department of the University of São Paulo
University of São Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...
Institute of Advanced Studies.
Government positions
Amorim has a long history of government service, beginning in 1987 when he was appointed Secretary for International Affairs for the Ministry of Science and Technology. He served in that position until 1989, when he was selected to be the Director-General for Cultural Affairs in the Ministry of External Relations. Amorim would be shifted again in 1990, moving to a new post as Director-General for Economic Affairs. In 1993, he was promoted to the position of Secretary General of the Brazilian foreign-affairs agency.Ambassadorial positions
While serving in the Ministry of External Relations, Amorim spent large amounts of time working as an ambassadorAmbassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Most notably, he represented Brazil on the Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
– Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
sanctions
International sanctions
International sanctions are actions taken by countries against others for political reasons, either unilaterally or multilaterally.There are several types of sanctions....
committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
in 1998, and the Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
panel on Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 1999. Amorim was named as Brazil's permanent ambassador to the United Nations and the WTO
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
later that year, and served for two years before taking assignment as the ambassador to the United Kingdom in 2001.
WTO Controversy
On 19 July 2008, Amorim stirred up controversy by comparing the descriptions used by wealthier countries to characterize the agricultural concessions they were offering during the Doha Round of WTO talks to the work of Nazi propagandist Joseph GoebbelsJoseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
. This brought a swift condemnation from the U.S. State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
.
Minister of Defence
On 4 August 2011, Amorim was appointed by Dilma RousseffDilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff is the 36th and current President of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to that, in 2005, she was also the first woman to become Chief of Staff of Brazil, appointed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva....
to replace Nelson Jobim
Nelson Jobim
Nelson Azevedo Jobim is a Brazilian jurist and politician. He served as the Minister of Defense of Brazil from 2007-2011. He is a distant relative of musician Antonio Carlos Jobim.-Early life:...
as Minister of Defence
Ministry of Defence (Brazil)
The Ministry of Defence of Brazil, is the civilian cabinet organization responsible for managing the Military of Brazil. It is headed by the Minister of Defence....
. Jobim's resignation came after he called Ideli Salvatti, Secretary of Institutional Relations, weak and criticized Gleisi Hoffmann
Gleisi Hoffmann
Gleisi Helena Hoffmann is a lawyer and Brazilian politician.-Biography:Born into a religious family of German origin, she began her militancy in the student movement during her youth, becoming a Partido dos Trabalhadores' member in 1989.Known for her public management skills, Hoffmann has served...
, Rousseff's chief of staff, as someone who "doesn't even know Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
". Jobim had increasingly expressed his displeasure with the government. He had said that he was surrounded by "idiots" in the administration and angered government colleagues even further after he admitted in an interview that he had voted for José Serra
José Serra
José Serra is a Brazilian politician, former secretary of state, congressman, senator, minister of Planning and Minister of Health, mayor of São Paulo and Governor of São Paulo state.-Background:...
, Rousseff's main opponent in the presidential election.