Rubens Ricupero

Biography

Mr. Rubens Ricupero was born in São Paulo on March 1, 1937. With almost 50 years of international experience, Mr. Rubens Ricupero was significantly active nationally, having been Minister twice, Vice Chief of Staff of the Presidency of the Republic and advisor to Presidents Tancredo Neves and José Sarney. He is also a university professor and contributor to major media outlets. His original degree in Law from the University of São Paulo was supplemented by a degree awarded by Itamaraty's Rio Branco Institute.  As Finance Minister, he was responsible for the launch of Plano Real in 1994, which was a decisive step in the stabilization of Brazilian economy. He was also responsible for implementing, in 1993, the then newly-created Ministry of Environment and Legal Amazon, whose priorities were the sustainable development of the Amazon rainforest, the conservation of the Atlantic Forest and the creation of national parks and ecological reserves.  In foreign trade, he was the head of the Brazilian delegation during most of the Uruguay Round of GATT, and was elected to various positions within the organization: president of the Contracting Parties (1991), chairman of the Council of Representatives (1990), of the Trade and Development Committee (1989) and of the Group of Developing Countries (from 1988 to 1991). His work caused the UN General Assembly to elect him Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva. He remained in office for two successive terms and one extension (from 1995 to 2004).  Mr. Rubens Ricupero presided the difficult negotiations of the financial chapter of Agenda 21 at the Conference on Environment, Eco-Rio 92. He was the main negotiator for Brazil in the Amazon Cooperation Treaty and for many years he was either part or director of the Itamaraty division that dealt with relations among all countries in the Americas. He was ambassador to some of the most important Brazilian embassies, both bilaterally - Washington, Rome - and multilaterally - UN in Geneva.  Professor of International Relations at the University of Brasilia, and of Brazilian Diplomatic History at the Rio Branco Institute, Mr. Ricupero has published books, essays, and articles about his fields of expertise in various languages.  The themes on which he focuses his work are international politics, world economics, trade, development, environment (global heating, Amazon forest), human rights, modern agriculture, international history, interpretations of Brazil, racial and religious issues, African-Brazilian culture, Latin America, Africa, Asia. 

Research Interest

Business