Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada
Encyclopedia
Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada (born 21 May 1937 in Havana, Cuba
) is a Cuban statesman. He served as Cuba's Permanent Representative to the United Nations
(UN) for nearly 30 years and later served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, from 1992 to 1993. Alarcón has served as President of the National Assembly of People's Power since 1993, and because of this post, considered the third-most powerful figure in Cuba.
A graduate of the University of Havana
with a doctorate in philosophy, he served in various diplomatic posts following the Cuban Revolution
. His first post in connection with Cuba's foreign policy was as Head of the Americas Division of Cuba's Foreign Ministry
. During his tenure as Permanent Representative to the UN Alarcón held several leading offices, such as, the Vice President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
on 21 May 1937. He entered the University of Havana in 1954 and graduated with a degree as a Doctor of Philosophy and Humanities
. Alarcón became active in the Federation of University Students (FEU), serving as the secretary of culture for the FEU from 1955 to 1956. Alarcón would become active in Castro's 26th of July Movement
, which was attempting to oust Cuban President
Fulgencio Batista
, in July 1955. Alarcón assisted in the organization of the student apparatus of the guerrilla organization's youth brigade. Alarcón was elected the FEU's Vice President in 1959, and would serve as the President of the Student Organization from 1961 to 1962. However, unlike the Castro's, Alarcón was active in the urban underground resistance, and not the guerilla movement located in the countryside.
In 1962, the new Castro-led government appointed Alarcón as the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Americas division, where he would begin his diplomatic career. Between 1966 and 1978 he served as Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations
, Vice President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, President of the Council of Administration to the United Nations Development Programme, and Vice-President of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. In 1978 Alarcón was promoted to first vice-minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While serving as Permanent Representative to the UN for a second time, Alarcón was President of the Security Council in February 1990 and July 1991. In 1992 was made Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in February 1993 he became the President of the National Assembly.
; the country's central policy-making body.
One-year after taking office, Alarcón travelled to the United States as the head of a five-member delegation to talk about the migration issues between the two countries. In a Government statement, Alarcón was described as the "best qualified" to deal with such delicate issues as emigration, and his knowledge of the "fundamental causes" to mass emigration from Cuba. Alarcón, along with the Cuba's Government, believes that the United States economic embargo against Cuba
is the main blame for the mass emigration from the country. The negotiations were suspended for a while when abruptly travelled to Cuba to discuss the situation with the Cuban Government. After his abrupt visit to Cuba, he returned to the United States and continued the negotiations. When he returned to the United States, he was more positive in tone, and several Cuban officials told the media that an agreement could be reached. Alarcón was able to reach an agreement with the United States Government on 9 September 1994, and the United States promised to issue at least 20,000 immigrant visas a year for Cuban citizens seeking to leave their homeland.
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In August 2000, Alarcón was involved in a minor dispute with the United States when he was denied a visa to attend an international conference in New York City
. Alarcón lived in Manhattan
for over twelve years but because of his status as a Cuban government official he is only allowed within a 25 mile radius of the United Nations.
On 2 December 2003, then-Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security John R. Bolton
charged that Cuba, along with Iran
, North Korea
, Syria
, and Libya
, were "rogue state
s...whose pursuit of weapons of mass destruction
makes them hostile to U.S. interests [and who] will learn that their covert programs will not escape either detection or consequences." In response, Alarcón called Bolton "a liar" and cited US claims pertaining to Iraq
's weapons of mass destruction
in justification of the Iraq War
which were later found to be incorrect.
In 2006, Alarcón stated: "At some moment, US rhetoric changed to talk of democracy... For me, the starting point is the recognition that democracy should begin with Pericles
's definition – that society is for the benefit of the majority – and should not be imposed from outside." During Fidel Castro
's transfer of presidential duties to his brother Raúl Castro
, Alarcón told the foreign media that Fidel would be fit to run for re-election to the assembly in January 2008 parliamentary election
. However, in an interview with the CNN
, Alarcón said he was unsure if Fidel would accept the post or not. Alarcón, in an interview on the topic on who would succeed Fidel Castro, said; "All those who have been trying to fool the world and put out the idea that something terrible would happen in Cuba, that people would take to the streets, that there would be great instability, the door slammed on them and they must have very swollen hands now".
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
) is a Cuban statesman. He served as Cuba's Permanent Representative to 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...
(UN) for nearly 30 years and later served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, from 1992 to 1993. Alarcón has served as President of the National Assembly of People's Power since 1993, and because of this post, considered the third-most powerful figure in Cuba.
A graduate of the University of Havana
University of Havana
The University of Havana or UH is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, Cuba. Founded in 1728, the University of Havana is the oldest university in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas...
with a doctorate in philosophy, he served in various diplomatic posts following the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
. His first post in connection with Cuba's foreign policy was as Head of the Americas Division of Cuba's Foreign Ministry
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cuba)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Cuban government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Cuba....
. During his tenure as Permanent Representative to the UN Alarcón held several leading offices, such as, the Vice President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Life and career (1937–1993)
Alarcón was born in HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
on 21 May 1937. He entered the University of Havana in 1954 and graduated with a degree as a Doctor of Philosophy and Humanities
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
. Alarcón became active in the Federation of University Students (FEU), serving as the secretary of culture for the FEU from 1955 to 1956. Alarcón would become active in Castro's 26th of July Movement
26th of July Movement
The 26th of July Movement was the revolutionary organization planned and led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in Cuba...
, which was attempting to oust Cuban President
President of Cuba
--209.174.31.28 18:43, 22 November 2011 The President of Cuba is the Head of state of Cuba. According to the Cuban Constitution of 1976, the President is the chief executive of the Council of State of Cuba...
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
, in July 1955. Alarcón assisted in the organization of the student apparatus of the guerrilla organization's youth brigade. Alarcón was elected the FEU's Vice President in 1959, and would serve as the President of the Student Organization from 1961 to 1962. However, unlike the Castro's, Alarcón was active in the urban underground resistance, and not the guerilla movement located in the countryside.
In 1962, the new Castro-led government appointed Alarcón as the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Americas division, where he would begin his diplomatic career. Between 1966 and 1978 he served as Permanent Representative of Cuba to 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...
, Vice President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, President of the Council of Administration to the United Nations Development Programme, and Vice-President of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. In 1978 Alarcón was promoted to first vice-minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While serving as Permanent Representative to the UN for a second time, Alarcón was President of the Security Council in February 1990 and July 1991. In 1992 was made Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in February 1993 he became the President of the National Assembly.
President of the National Assembly (1993–incumbent)
Alarcón took over the office of President of the National Assembly of People's Power in 1993 in what Ben Corbett, a historian, considered a "demotion" from his earlier post as Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, William E. Ratliff and Roger W. Fontaine, in their book, A Strategic Flip-flop in the Caribbean: Lift the Embargo on Cuba, ranks Alarcón as third-most powerful figure in Cuba. Alarcón is currently a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of CubaCommunist Party of Cuba
The Communist Party of Cuba is the governing political party in Cuba. It is a communist party of the Marxist-Leninist model. The Cuban constitution ascribes the role of the Party to be the "leading force of society and of the state"...
; the country's central policy-making body.
One-year after taking office, Alarcón travelled to the United States as the head of a five-member delegation to talk about the migration issues between the two countries. In a Government statement, Alarcón was described as the "best qualified" to deal with such delicate issues as emigration, and his knowledge of the "fundamental causes" to mass emigration from Cuba. Alarcón, along with the Cuba's Government, believes that the United States economic embargo against Cuba
United States embargo against Cuba
The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...
is the main blame for the mass emigration from the country. The negotiations were suspended for a while when abruptly travelled to Cuba to discuss the situation with the Cuban Government. After his abrupt visit to Cuba, he returned to the United States and continued the negotiations. When he returned to the United States, he was more positive in tone, and several Cuban officials told the media that an agreement could be reached. Alarcón was able to reach an agreement with the United States Government on 9 September 1994, and the United States promised to issue at least 20,000 immigrant visas a year for Cuban citizens seeking to leave their homeland.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Alarcón lived in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
for over twelve years but because of his status as a Cuban government official he is only allowed within a 25 mile radius of the United Nations.
On 2 December 2003, then-Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security John R. Bolton
John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
charged that Cuba, along with Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, were "rogue state
Rogue state
Rogue state is a controversial term applied by some international theorists to states they consider threatening to the world's peace. This means meeting certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian regimes that severely restrict human rights, sponsor terrorism, and seek to proliferate...
s...whose pursuit of weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
makes them hostile to U.S. interests [and who] will learn that their covert programs will not escape either detection or consequences." In response, Alarcón called Bolton "a liar" and cited US claims pertaining to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's weapons of mass destruction
Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
During the regime of Saddam Hussein, the nation of Iraq used, possessed, and made efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction . Hussein was internationally known for his use of chemical weapons in the 1980s against Iranian and Kurdish civilians during and after the Iran–Iraq War...
in justification of the Iraq War
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
which were later found to be incorrect.
In 2006, Alarcón stated: "At some moment, US rhetoric changed to talk of democracy... For me, the starting point is the recognition that democracy should begin with Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
's definition – that society is for the benefit of the majority – and should not be imposed from outside." During Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's transfer of presidential duties to his brother Raúl Castro
Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
, Alarcón told the foreign media that Fidel would be fit to run for re-election to the assembly in January 2008 parliamentary election
Cuban legislative election, 2008
A parliamentary election to the National Assembly of People's Power was held in Cuba on 20 January 2008. According to the Cuban electoral system, one candidate was nominated for each of the 614 seats in the Assembly, and candidates were elected if they received at least 50% of the vote.The date of...
. However, in an interview with the CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Alarcón said he was unsure if Fidel would accept the post or not. Alarcón, in an interview on the topic on who would succeed Fidel Castro, said; "All those who have been trying to fool the world and put out the idea that something terrible would happen in Cuba, that people would take to the streets, that there would be great instability, the door slammed on them and they must have very swollen hands now".
Further reading
- Ricardo Alarcón and Reinaldo Suarez, Cuba y Su Democracia (Editorial de Ciencias Sociales 2004) ISBN 9871158068
- Fidel Castro and Ricardo Alarcón, EE.UU. fuera del oriente medio (Pathfinder Press 2001) ISBN 0873486250
- Ricardo Alarcón and Mary Murray Cuba and the United States : an interview with Cuban Foreign Minister, Ricardo Alaron (Ocean Press 1992) ISBN 1875284699
External links
- Official Biography – Cuban Communist Party.
- Official Biography – Cuban National Assembly.