Arturo Valenzuela
Encyclopedia
Arturo A. Valenzuela is a Chilean-American academic who was the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
from November 5, 2009, until August 2011. His confirmation had been blocked by Senator Jim DeMint
(R, SC) due to a dispute over President Barack Obama
's approach to the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
. He previously served as Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
at Georgetown University
. He was previously Professor of Political Science and Director of the Council on Latin American Studies at Duke University
. On May 6, 2011 the press reported that Valenzuela would be leaving his government post later in the 2011 U.S. summer to return to his academic activities. The news has not been confirmed by the U.S. State Department.
, Chile
to American Methodist missionaries Raimundo Arms Valenzuela and Dorothy Bowie Valenzuela. He spent his childhood in Concepción where he attended primary school at the Lycée Charles de Gaulle, where he learned to speak French. In 1960, after his school was destroyed by the Great Chilean Earthquake, he was sent by his family for a year to the United States
. During the next eight years, he went back to visit his family in Chile only once. He earned a B.A.
summa cum laude in Political Science and Religion from Drew University
and in 1971 he obtained a Doctorate and a Master's degree in Political Science
from Columbia University
.
Valenzuela is married to Kathryn Mudge. He has two children from his first marriage.
by President Bill Clinton
. His primary responsibility there was United States foreign policy towards Mexico
. In President Clinton's second term in office, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council
at the White House.
On May 12, 2009 Valenzuela was nominated by President Barack Obama
as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on November 5, 2009.
Valenzuela has been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, the University of Sussex
, the University of Florence
(Italy
) and the Catholic University of Chile. He has served on the board of directors of Drew University, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
(NDI), the National Council of La Raza
(NCLR) and the advisory boards of Americas Watch and the Institut des Amériques
in Paris
.
For his diplomatic contributions Valenzuela has been honored Brazil
's Order of the Southern Cross
and Colombia
's Order of Boyaca.
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The Assistant Secretary of State guides operation of the U.S...
from November 5, 2009, until August 2011. His confirmation had been blocked by Senator Jim DeMint
Jim DeMint
James Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in...
(R, SC) due to a dispute over President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's approach to the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in a coup d'état against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military...
. He previously served as Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. He was previously Professor of Political Science and Director of the Council on Latin American Studies at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
. On May 6, 2011 the press reported that Valenzuela would be leaving his government post later in the 2011 U.S. summer to return to his academic activities. The news has not been confirmed by the U.S. State Department.
Early life
Valenzuela was born in ConcepciónConcepción, Chile
Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
to American Methodist missionaries Raimundo Arms Valenzuela and Dorothy Bowie Valenzuela. He spent his childhood in Concepción where he attended primary school at the Lycée Charles de Gaulle, where he learned to speak French. In 1960, after his school was destroyed by the Great Chilean Earthquake, he was sent by his family for a year to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. During the next eight years, he went back to visit his family in Chile only once. He earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
summa cum laude in Political Science and Religion from Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
and in 1971 he obtained a Doctorate and a Master's degree in 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...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Valenzuela is married to Kathryn Mudge. He has two children from his first marriage.
Political and academic career
In 1992 Valenzuela was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs in the United States Department of StateUnited 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...
by 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...
. His primary responsibility there was United States foreign policy towards Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In President Clinton's second term in office, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
at the White House.
On May 12, 2009 Valenzuela was nominated by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The Assistant Secretary of State guides operation of the U.S...
. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on November 5, 2009.
Valenzuela has been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
, the University of Florence
University of Florence
The University of Florence is a higher study institute in Florence, central Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it consists of 12 faculties...
(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...
) and the Catholic University of Chile. He has served on the board of directors of Drew University, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs is an organization created by the United States government by way of the National Endowment for Democracy to channel grants for furthering democracy in developing nations. It was founded in 1983, shortly after the U.S. Congress created...
(NDI), the National Council of La Raza
National Council of La Raza
The National Council of La Raza is a non-profit and non-partisan advocacy group in the United States, focused on improving opportunities for Hispanics. It is sometimes confused with La Raza Unida...
(NCLR) and the advisory boards of Americas Watch and the Institut des Amériques
Institut des Amériques
The Institut des Amériques is a public research institute in Paris, France. It is concerned with research pertaining to Europe, Latin America and North America. It was founded on March 5, 2005.-Overview:...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
For his diplomatic contributions Valenzuela has been honored Brazil
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...
's Order of the Southern Cross
Order of the Southern Cross
The National Order of the Southern Cross is a Brazilian order of chivalry founded by Emperor Pedro I on 1 December 1822. This order was intended to commemorate the independence of Brazil and the coronation of Pedro I...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
's Order of Boyaca.
Books
- "Political Brokers in Chile: Local Government in a Centralized Polity"
- "The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Chile"
- "The Failure of Presidential Democracy" (with Juan J. Linz)
- "A Nation of Enemies: Chile Under Pinochet" (with Pamela Constable)
Papers
- Valenzuela, Arturo. "Latin American Presidencies Interrupted" in Journal of DemocracyJournal of DemocracyThe Journal of Democracy is a quarterly academic journal established in 1990 and an official publication of the National Endowment for Democracy...
Volume 15, Number 4 October 2004