Biographical Note

José Luis Cancela of Uruguay Chair of First Committee

 

José Luis Cancela, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations, was elected Chair of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) on 10 June.  (See Press Release GA/10831.)

Mr. Cancela has served as his country’s Permanent Representative since July 2008.  At the time of his appointment, Mr. Cancela was Secretary-General in his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2005.  In 2006, he held the post of Minister Counsellor.  Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General in 2005, he held various posts, including Counsellor of Foreign Service in 2002 and Deputy Head of Mission in the Uruguayan Embassy in Spain (2000-2005).

Mr. Cancela was First Secretary and Director of the Economic and Trade Department in 1998 and Second Secretary and Chief of Staff in the Foreign Ministry’s Political Department in 1996.  Having been designated as Foreign Service Third Secretary upon joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988, he also served in his country’s embassies in Bulgaria (1991-1993) and Belgium

(1993-1996).

He was educated at the Universidad de la Republica in Montevideo.

Born in 1961 in Montevideo, Mr. Cancela speaks Spanish, English, French and Italian.

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*     This supersedes Press Release BIO/3998 of 31 July 2008.

For information media • not an official record