UNIS/BIO/726
17 November 2004
New Permanent Representative of Guatemala Presents Credentials
VIENNA, 17 November (UN Information Service) -- The new Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Luis Alberto Pádilla Menéndez presented his credentials today to Antonio Maria Costa, Director-General, UNOV.
Prior to his current appointment, he was serving as Ambassador of Guatemala to the Russian Federation in Moscow (2003-2004). Mr. Pádilla Menéndez has served in a variety of capacities in the course of his diplomatic career, including as Ambassador of Guatemala to the Netherlands, in the Hague from 2000-2003 ; Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1997-2000; Political and Security Affairs Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guatemala from 1994-1996; and as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guatemala, in 1993.
He has also served as Vice President of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva from 1998-1999 and as coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC).
Mr. Pádilla Menéndez obtained a University Degree in Law from the Faculty of Law, State University of San Carlos, Guatemala, and a Doctorate in Philosophy of Law, from the University of Paris (Paris II, Panthéon-Sorbonne). He also completed a conflict resolution course from the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
Mr. Pádilla Menéndez is married and has two sons.
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