Enrique Ruiz Guiñazú
Encyclopedia
Enrique Ruiz Guiñazú was an Argentinean
politician who is best remembered for his spell as Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship in the 1940s.
and ambassador to Switzerland
. He was serving as ambassador to the Vatican City
when President Ramón Castillo
recalled him to take up the post of Foreign Minister. Even before the entry of the United States
into the Second World War Ruiz Guiñazú had already accrued a reputation as a fascist
sympathiser in that country, with his frequent praising of Benito Mussolini
and Francisco Franco
leading American diplomat Sumner Welles
to write that Ruiz Guiñazú was "one of the stupidest men ever to hold office in Argentina's proud history". Having previously served as ambassador to Spain
, where he had been impressed by falangism
, Ruiz Guiñazú advocated both neutrality in the Second World War and Hispanidad as Foreign Minister.
in January 1942, Ruiz Guiñazú pushed a pro-Axis Powers
agenda by ensuring that the wording of the US-led agreement was changed from a 'commitment' to breaking off diplomatic relations with the Axis to a 'recommendation'. Ultimately Castillo kept open relations with Germany
, Japan
and Italy
for the duration of his Presidency.
Ostensibly seeking a peace settlement Ruiz Guiñazú and his main advisor Mario Amadeo
closely co-operated with the Axis powers, sending Juan Carlos Goyeneche
to Europe
as their own envoy and asking German ambassador Edmund von Thermann to forward plans for an Argentine-hosted peace summit to Joachim von Ribbentrop
in which Nazi
rule over Europe would be officially recognised. However the idea came to nothing and Ruiz Guiñazú's time as Foreign Minister came to an end in 1943.
under Spanish rule for many years after it was first published.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
politician who is best remembered for his spell as Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship in the 1940s.
Rise to prominence
Ruiz Guiñazú served as both a professor and a banker before into the diplomatic service, with his roles including chief delegate to the League of NationsLeague of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
and ambassador to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He was serving as ambassador to the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
when President Ramón Castillo
Ramón Castillo
Ramón S. Castillo Barrionuevo was a conservative Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from June 27, 1942 to June 4, 1943...
recalled him to take up the post of Foreign Minister. Even before the entry of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
into the Second World War Ruiz Guiñazú had already accrued a reputation as a fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
sympathiser in that country, with his frequent praising of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
leading American diplomat Sumner Welles
Sumner Welles
Benjamin Sumner Welles was an American government official and diplomat in the Foreign Service. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1937 to 1943, during FDR's presidency.-Early life:Benjamin Sumner Welles was born in...
to write that Ruiz Guiñazú was "one of the stupidest men ever to hold office in Argentina's proud history". Having previously served as ambassador to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where he had been impressed by falangism
Falangism
Falangism is the political ideology of the Spanish Falange as well as derivatives of it in other countries. In its original form, Falangism is widely associated as a fascist ideology, the Spanish Falange denied this, claiming it was not a copy of any foreign movement...
, Ruiz Guiñazú advocated both neutrality in the Second World War and Hispanidad as Foreign Minister.
Pro-Axis activity
At the Pan-American conference held in Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
in January 1942, Ruiz Guiñazú pushed a pro-Axis Powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
agenda by ensuring that the wording of the US-led agreement was changed from a 'commitment' to breaking off diplomatic relations with the Axis to a 'recommendation'. Ultimately Castillo kept open relations with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for the duration of his Presidency.
Ostensibly seeking a peace settlement Ruiz Guiñazú and his main advisor Mario Amadeo
Mario Amadeo
Mario Amadeo was an Argentine conservative nationalist politician, diplomat and writer who served as a minister in the government of Eduardo Lonardi...
closely co-operated with the Axis powers, sending Juan Carlos Goyeneche
Juan Carlos Goyeneche
Juan Carlos Goyeneche was an Argentine Catholic nationalist politician. Also highly sympathetic to Nazism, during the Second World War Goyeneche travelled to Nazi Germany where he met a number of leading figures...
to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as their own envoy and asking German ambassador Edmund von Thermann to forward plans for an Argentine-hosted peace summit to Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
in which Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
rule over Europe would be officially recognised. However the idea came to nothing and Ruiz Guiñazú's time as Foreign Minister came to an end in 1943.
Writing
Away from politics Ruiz Guiñazú was a noted historian with his 1916 book La Magistatura Indiana considered a central study of justice in Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
under Spanish rule for many years after it was first published.