Guido di Tella
Encyclopedia
Guido di Tella was an Argentine businessman, academic and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Relations between 1991 and 1999.
, 1931. His father, Torcuato di Tella
, was an Italian Argentine
immigrant who had become a prominent local industrialist, producing industrial machinery and home appliances through the Siam di Tella
establishment. Guido lost his father at age 17, and per his wishes, the young man pursued an engineering
degree at the University of Buenos Aires
with the intention of later managing the family industrial firm (an employer of 5,000). He also took an interest in politics, becoming a co-founder of the Christian Democratic Party of Argentina
, in 1954. Graduating in 1955, he was accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), where he earned a PhD in Economics
in 1959.
Returning to Argentina he co-founded -with his older brother Torcuato- the Torcuato di Tella Institute
, an educational and cultural foundation; by then, Guido Di Tella had become a vocal Peronist (a supporter of the exiled, populist former President Juan Perón
). Such a progression was unusual among young Argentines of a privileged background; Di Tella, however, came to believe that class-driven prejudices against the mostly working-class Peronists had to be set aside if Argentina was once again, in his words, to become a "serious country." Teaching at his alma mater and at the Argentine Catholic University, he also helped spur the Di Tella Institute into becoming a leading sponsor of the local vanguard movement in the arts during the 1960s. His ongoing support of Perón led to his brief expulsion from Argentina in the early 1970s, when he was made a visiting fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford University.
Di Tella had been among Perón's entourage on the aging leader's brief, November 1972 visit that had been authorized ahead of the 1973 general elections
. Following Perón's July 1974 death, his widow and successor Isabel Perón named him Deputy Economy Minister, a post he held until the March 1976 military coup
against her chaotic presidency. Di Tella then spent many years of exile in Oxford, where he wrote a book about his experiences. Returning to Argentina in 1989, he never severed his links with the city and university, keeping a house there and visiting every spring.
, was elected President of Argentina in 1989, Di Tella was appointed Ambassador to the United States. A cabinet shake-up in February 1991 resulted in his succeeding Domingo Cavallo
as Foreign Minister. Cavallo was named Economy Minister, and had already initiated Argentina's rapprochement with the United Kingdom
and United States
; diplomatic relations with the U.K had been resumed in February 1990, and Argentina had participated in Operation Desert Storm.
However, Argentina also had a long tradition of voting against the U.S. at the United Nations
, and for years was an active member of the Non-aligned Movement
. Di Tella carried out Menem's realignment of Argentine foreign policy
towards the "Washington Consensus
," outlining a new U.S.-Argentine entente the Foreign Minister famously described as "carnal relations." Di Tella's efforts also led to a 1997 decision by U.S. President Bill Clinton
to designate Argentina a Major non-NATO ally
.
He also strengthened the newly cordial relations with the U.K. and signed landmark commercial cooperation accords regarding the Exclusive Economic Zone
around the Falkland Islands
with British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd
, in November 1991. A charm offensive towards residents of the Falklands (including Di Tella's personally-autographed annual postcards) remained largely fruitless - though it resulted in an improved opinion of Argentina by the islanders, who credited him with being the first Argentine politician to recognise that any solution to the problem must involve consultations with the islanders themselves.
Illness forced Di Tella to retire from politics, however, and 2001 was marked by an investigation into his possible role in the illegal, Menem-era sale of arms to Croatia
and Ecuador
(each embroiled in wars, at the time); he maintained his innocence, and was eventually spared further trial because of his ill health. Secluded in his estancia
outside Navarro, Buenos Aires
, Di Tella suffered a stroke on New Year's Eve, 2001, dying at age 70. He was survived by his widow, Nelly, and his five children.
Early career
Guido José Mario Di Tella was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, 1931. His father, Torcuato di Tella
Torcuato di Tella
Torcuato di Tella was an Argentine industrialist and philanthropist.-Life and times:Torcuato di Tella was born in Capracotta, Italy, in 1892. He arrived in Argentina at age 13 and settled in Buenos Aires...
, was an Italian Argentine
Italian Argentine
An Italian Argentine is a person born in Argentina of Italian ancestry. It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent...
immigrant who had become a prominent local industrialist, producing industrial machinery and home appliances through the Siam di Tella
Siam di Tella
Siam Di Tella was an Argentine manufacturing company; the name Siam is an acronym from Sección Industrial Amasadoras Mecánicas.-Early years:...
establishment. Guido lost his father at age 17, and per his wishes, the young man pursued an engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
degree at the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
with the intention of later managing the family industrial firm (an employer of 5,000). He also took an interest in politics, becoming a co-founder of the Christian Democratic Party of Argentina
Christian Democratic Party (Argentina)
The Christian Democratic Party is a Christian Democrat political party in Argentina.The Party was founded in 1954 after several other organisations had been active promoting Christian democracy in Argentina. Leading activists in its early years included José Allende and Horacio Sueldo...
, in 1954. Graduating in 1955, he was accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT), where he earned a PhD in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
in 1959.
Returning to Argentina he co-founded -with his older brother Torcuato- the Torcuato di Tella Institute
Torcuato di Tella Institute
The Torcuato di Tella Institute is a non-profit foundation organized for the promotion of Argentine culture.-Overview:The di Tella Foundation and its institute were created on July 22, 1958, the tenth anniversary of the death of industrialist and arts patron Torcuato di Tella...
, an educational and cultural foundation; by then, Guido Di Tella had become a vocal Peronist (a supporter of the exiled, populist former President Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
). Such a progression was unusual among young Argentines of a privileged background; Di Tella, however, came to believe that class-driven prejudices against the mostly working-class Peronists had to be set aside if Argentina was once again, in his words, to become a "serious country." Teaching at his alma mater and at the Argentine Catholic University, he also helped spur the Di Tella Institute into becoming a leading sponsor of the local vanguard movement in the arts during the 1960s. His ongoing support of Perón led to his brief expulsion from Argentina in the early 1970s, when he was made a visiting fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford University.
Di Tella had been among Perón's entourage on the aging leader's brief, November 1972 visit that had been authorized ahead of the 1973 general elections
Argentine general election, March 1973
The first Argentine general election of 1973 was held on 11 March. Voters chose both the President and their legislators and with a turnout of 85.5%, it produced the following results:-President:...
. Following Perón's July 1974 death, his widow and successor Isabel Perón named him Deputy Economy Minister, a post he held until the March 1976 military coup
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
against her chaotic presidency. Di Tella then spent many years of exile in Oxford, where he wrote a book about his experiences. Returning to Argentina in 1989, he never severed his links with the city and university, keeping a house there and visiting every spring.
Foreign Minister
When the Peronist Carlos MenemCarlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
, was elected President of Argentina in 1989, Di Tella was appointed Ambassador to the United States. A cabinet shake-up in February 1991 resulted in his succeeding Domingo Cavallo
Domingo Cavallo
Domingo Felipe "Mingo" Cavallo is an Argentine economist and politician. He has a long history of public service and is known for implementing the Convertibilidad plan, which fixed the dollar-peso exchange rate at 1:1 between 1991 and 2001, which brought the Argentine inflation rate down from over...
as Foreign Minister. Cavallo was named Economy Minister, and had already initiated Argentina's rapprochement with 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...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; diplomatic relations with the U.K had been resumed in February 1990, and Argentina had participated in Operation Desert Storm.
However, Argentina also had a long tradition of voting against the U.S. at 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...
, and for years was an active member of the Non-aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
. Di Tella carried out Menem's realignment of Argentine foreign policy
Foreign relations of Argentina
This article deals with the diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and international relations of Argentina.At the political level, these matters are officially handled by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, also known as the Cancillería, which answers to the President...
towards the "Washington Consensus
Washington Consensus
The term Washington Consensus was coined in 1989 by the economist John Williamson to describe a set of ten relatively specific economic policy prescriptions that he considered constituted the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries...
," outlining a new U.S.-Argentine entente the Foreign Minister famously described as "carnal relations." Di Tella's efforts also led to a 1997 decision by U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to designate Argentina a Major non-NATO ally
Major non-NATO ally
Major non-NATO ally is a designation given by the United States government to close allies who have strategic working relationships with US armed forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization...
.
He also strengthened the newly cordial relations with the U.K. and signed landmark commercial cooperation accords regarding the Exclusive Economic Zone
Exclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...
around the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
with British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd
Douglas Hurd
Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC , is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995....
, in November 1991. A charm offensive towards residents of the Falklands (including Di Tella's personally-autographed annual postcards) remained largely fruitless - though it resulted in an improved opinion of Argentina by the islanders, who credited him with being the first Argentine politician to recognise that any solution to the problem must involve consultations with the islanders themselves.
Later life
Di Tella retired from public service with the change of administrations in December 1999, on which occasion he was made an honorary fellow of St. Antony's (a rare distinction). He visited the Falkland Islands as an ordinary citizen (a concession he had obtained for Argentine nationals while Foreign Minister), in October 2000, and was warmly received.Illness forced Di Tella to retire from politics, however, and 2001 was marked by an investigation into his possible role in the illegal, Menem-era sale of arms to Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
(each embroiled in wars, at the time); he maintained his innocence, and was eventually spared further trial because of his ill health. Secluded in his estancia
Estância
Estância is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. Its population was 62,218 and its area is 642 km². The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Estância....
outside Navarro, Buenos Aires
Navarro, Buenos Aires
Navarro is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Navarro Partido....
, Di Tella suffered a stroke on New Year's Eve, 2001, dying at age 70. He was survived by his widow, Nelly, and his five children.