The Foreign Ministry reports that President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a series of comprehensive reforms to the Mexican Foreign Service Law in order to recognize and strengthen Mexican diplomacy.
The President also named Ambassadors Rubén Alberto Beltrán Guerrero, Jorge Castro Valle Kuehne and Eduardo Ibarrola Nicolín as Eminent Ambassadors for their outstanding service to Mexico in the area of foreign policy, and he announced the promotion of 30 career diplomats to the rank of ambassador.
Speaking in the Adolfo López Mateos Hall of the Los Pinos Official Residence, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray said that it is with actions such as these that the work entrusted to them by the President of positioning Mexico as an actor with global responsibility is carried out.
“For Mexico to fully address the challenges that today’s complex world presents to us, the most important thing is to have the human capacity to do it, and Mexico has this capacity to spare; Mexico has more than sufficient capacity thanks to the patriotic men and women who are passionate about their country and have decided to dedicate their lives to Mexico’s diplomacy,” said the Foreign Secretary at the event headed by President Peña Nieto.
He also gave special thanks to the work done by Dr. José Antonio Meade and Claudia Ruiz Massieu, former Foreign Secretaries, and he acknowledged Ambassadors Carlos Pujalte and Joel Hernández as key architects of the new regulations of the Mexican Foreign Service.
The Foreign Secretary referred to the members of the Mexican Foreign Service as the family that comprises the oldest career service in Mexico. “The Mexican Foreign Service was created in 1821 and its first law dates from 1829 during the administration of President Vicente Guerrero,” he recalled.
The new Eminent Ambassadors are:
Rubén Alberto Beltrán Guerrero, who has been a member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1982 and Ambassador since 2005. He has been Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean and Director General for Legal Affairs; Consular Affairs and Protection; and for Latin America and the Caribbean. He worked for the United Nations for eight years in Geneva and Vienna. During his diplomatic career he has been the head of the Consulates General in Phoenix, Los Angeles and New York, as well as ambassador in Russia and currently in Chile.
Jorge Castro Valle Kuehne, who has been a member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1973 and was promoted to Ambassador in 1994. During his diplomatic career, he has been Secretary to the Foreign Secretary; Deputy Head of Mission in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, and the Chargé d’Affaires Ad-hoc in the German Democratic Republic. He has also been Director General for North America and for Protocol, and Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean. He was ambassador in Sweden, Germany and currently heads the embassy in Switzerland. He was recently ratified by the Senate as ambassador in Norway.
Eduardo Ibarrola Nicolín, who joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1985 and was promoted to the rank of ambassador in 2002. He has been Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary and Director General for Consular Affairs and Protection for Mexicans and for Legal Affairs. He was commissioned to the Office of the Attorney General, where he served as Deputy Attorney General for International Affairs. He has been Deputy Consul in Los Angeles; Consul General in Houston; Deputy Head of Mission in the United States and Ambassador in Guatemala. He is currently the ambassador in the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other international organizations based in the Netherlands.
In accordance with Article 24 of the Mexican Foreign Service Law, there can be a maximum of 10 Eminent Ambassadors in recognition of ambassadors who have given outstanding service to the country in the area of foreign affairs.
The ministers who were promoted today to ambassador are:
1. José Luis González Alvarado. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1982 and was promoted to minister in 2009. He currently heads the embassy in Haiti.
2. Armando Gonzalo Álvarez Reina. He joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1989 and was promoted to minister in 2005. He currently heads the embassy in Australia, has held the same post in Costa Rica and has been the Director General for Asia-Pacific.
3. María de los Ángeles Arriola Aguirre. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1991 and was promoted to minister in 2009. She currently heads the embassy in Ghana.
4. Mario Eugenio Arriola Woog. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1985 and was promoted to minister in 1998. He has headed the embassies in Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago, and was Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean.
5. Hermann Aschentrupp Toledo. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1979 and was promoted to minister in 2005. He currently serves as Deputy Head of Mission in Austria.
6. Marcela Celorio Mancera. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 2000 and was promoted to minister in 2015. She is currently the Consul General in San Diego.
7. Bernardo Córdova Tello. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1982 and was promoted to minister in 1999. He currently serves as head of the consular section in Spain and was ratified by the Senate as ambassador in Turkey.
8. Francisco Javier Díaz de León. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and was promoted to minister in 2012. He currently serves as Consul General in Atlanta and has headed the consulate in Raleigh and been Executive Director of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME).
9. Óscar Arturo Esparza Vargas. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and was promoted to minister in 2011. He currently serves as Deputy Head of Mission in Chile and was ratified by the Senate as ambassador in Saint Lucia.
10. Claudia Franco Hijuelos. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1980 and was promoted to minister in 2009. She is currently the Consul General in Phoenix and has been Consul General in Vancouver.
11. Marco Antonio García Blanco. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1989 and was promoted to minister in 2000. He currently heads the embassy in Serbia and has headed the embassy in Nigeria and been Consul in San Pedro Sula and Tucson.
12. Carlos Ignacio Giralt Cabrales. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1991 and was promoted to minister in 2009. He is currently Consul General in Guangzhou, China, and has been Consul in Philadelphia and San Bernardino.
13. Juan José González Mijares. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1991 and was promoted to minister in 2006. He currently heads the embassy in Algeria.
14. Miguel Ángel Isidro Rodríguez. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1989 and was promoted to minister in 2009. He has been Consul in Laredo, Quetzaltenango and Santa Ana. He currently heads the embassy in Kuwait.
15. Dolores Jiménez Hernández. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1982 and was promoted to minister in 2006. She currently heads the embassy in Honduras.
16. Francisca Elizabeth Méndez Escobar. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and was promoted to minister in 2009. She currently heads the embassy in the United Arab Emirates and has been Director General of American Regional Organizations.
17. Juan Carlos Mendoza Sánchez. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and was promoted to minister in 2014. He is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME).
18. Juan Alfredo Miranda Ortiz. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1991 and was promoted to minister in 2003. He currently heads the embassy in Saudi Arabia and has held the same post in Ethiopia.
19. Víctor Hugo Morales Meléndez. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1987 and was promoted to minister in 2005. He is currently Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean, in charge of the countries of South America. He has headed the embassy in Honduras.
20. David Renato Nájera Rivas. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1991 and was promoted to minister in 2003. He is currently Deputy Head of Mission in the United Kingdom and has been Consul General in Guangzhou. He was just ratified by the Senate as ambassador to Hungary.
21. José Guillermo Ordorica Robles. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1988 and was promoted to minister in 2015. He currently serves as Consul in McAllen and held the same post in Boise.
22. Eduardo Patricio Peña Haller. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1982 and was promoted to minister in 1999. He is currently the Deputy Legal Counsel.
23. Ricardo Pineda Albarrán. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and was promoted to minister in 2009. He is currently the Consul in Tucson and held the same post in Boise.
24. Jacob Prado González. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and was promoted to minister in 2015. He is currently the Director General for Protection of Mexicans Abroad and has been Consul in El Paso and Kansas City.
25. Ricardo Santana Velázquez. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1981 and was promoted to minister in 2000. He is currently Consul General in Nogales and held the same post in Del Río and Eagle Pass.
26. Iván Roberto Sierra Medel. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1993 and was promoted to minister in 2014. He currently heads the embassy in Guyana.
27. Víctor Manuel Treviño Escudero. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1982 and was promoted to minister in 2001. He currently heads the embassy in Ethiopia and previously served as Consul in Phoenix and Brownsville.
28. Sara Valdez Bolaño. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1991 and was promoted to minister in 2012. She currently heads the embassy in Vietnam and has been Director General for Africa and the Middle East.
29. Carmen Cecilia Villanueva Bracho. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and was promoted to minister in 2011. She is currently Consul in Frankfurt and previously held the same post in Calgary.
30. Carolina Zaragoza Flores. Joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1982 and was promoted to minister in 2012. She currently serves as Consul General in Laredo and has held the same post in San Bernardino and Raleigh.
