Mora Otero, José Antonio (1897–1975)

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Mora Otero, José Antonio (1897–1975)

José Antonio Mora Otero (b. 22 November 1897; d. 26 January 1975), Uruguayan diplomat. Mora Otero had an extremely active international career, especially in Pan-American organizations. He was born in Montevideo, where he received his law degree in 1925. He joined the foreign service in 1926 and served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1933 to 1941. He was appointed minister to Bolivia in 1942. Starting in 1945, he played an active role in meetings that gave rise to the United Nations. In 1946 he was appointed minister to Washington and Uruguayan delegate to the United Nations. In 1951 he remained in Washington, now in the post of ambassador. In 1954 he was appointed chair of the Organization of American States (OAS) and from 1956 to 1968 served as secretary general of that organization. Returning to his country, he served as minister of foreign affairs from 1971 to 1972 before retiring. His writings include Sentido internacional del Uruguay (1938) and From Panama to Punta del Este (1968).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Enrique Arocena Olivera, Evolución y apogeo de la diplomacia uruguaya, 1828–1948 (Montevideo, 1984).

Additional Bibliography

Caetano, Gerardo, Gabriel Bucheli, and Jaime Yaffé, eds. Cancilleres del Uruguay: Reseña biográfica de los ministros de relaciones exteriores de la República Oriental del Uruguay, 1828–2002. Montevideo: República Oriental del Uruguay, 2002.

                               JosÉ de Torres Wilson