Celso Amorim

In thisPortuguese name,the first or maternalfamily nameisNunesand the second or paternal family name isAmorim.

Celso Amorim
Amorim in 2010
Chief Advisor to thePresident of Brazilfor Foreign Policy
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 January 2023
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Minister of Defence
In office 5 August 2011 – 31 December 2014
President	Dilma Rousseff
Preceded by	Nelson Jobim
Succeeded by	Jaques Wagner
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 1 January 2003 – 31 December 2010
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Preceded by	Celso Lafer
Succeeded by	Antonio Patriota
In office 20 July 1993 – 31 December 1994
President	Itamar Franco
Preceded by	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Succeeded by	Luiz Felipe Lampreia
Ambassador of Brazil to the United Kingdom
In office 16 December 2001 – 27 December 2002
Nominated by	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Preceded by	Sérgio Amaral
Succeeded by	José Bustani
Secretary General of Foreign Affairs
In office 23 June 1993 – 1 September 1993
President	Itamar Franco
Preceded by	Luiz Felipe Lampreia
Succeeded by	Roberto Abdenur
Personal details
Born	Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (1942-06-03)3 June 1942 Santos,São Paulo,Brazil
Political party	Workers' Party(since 2009)
Other political affiliations	PMDB(1980–2009)
Spouse	Ana Maria Amorim
Children	4
Alma mater	Rio Branco Institute Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
Profession	Diplomat politician
Signature

Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim(born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served asMinister of Foreign Affairsfrom 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 underPresidentItamar Francoand again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under PresidentLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva.He wasMinister of Defencefrom 5 August 2011 to 31 December 2014 under PresidentDilma Rousseff.

Before his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs by Lula, Amorim served as Brazil'sambassadorto theUnited Kingdom.On 7 October 2009, Amorim was named the "world's best foreign minister" byForeign Policymagazine blogger David Rothkopf.On 5 January 2023, Amorim was appointed as Chief Advisor for Foreign Policy byLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Early life and academic career

Amorim was born inSantos,São Paulo,on June 3, 1942.

He graduated from theRio Branco Institute,a graduate school ofinternational relationsrun by the Ministry of External Relations, in 1965, and obtained a post-graduate degree in International Relations from theDiplomatic Academy of Viennain 1967.

Amorim was a professor ofPortuguese languageat the Rio Branco Institute, as well as professor ofpolitical scienceand international relations at theUniversity of Brasília.He is a permanent member of the Foreign Affairs Department of theUniversity of São PauloInstitute of Advanced Studies.

Governmental career

Amorim has a long history of government service, beginning in 1987 when he was appointed Secretary for International Affairs for the Ministry of Science and Technology. He served in that position until 1989, when he was selected to be the Director-General for Cultural Affairs in the Ministry of External Relations. Amorim was shifted again in 1990, moving to a new post as Director-General for Economic Affairs. In 1993, he was promoted to the position of Secretary General of the Brazilian foreign-affairs agency.

While serving in the Ministry of External Relations, Amorim spent large amounts of time working as anambassadorto theUnited Nations.Most notably, he represented Brazil on theKosovo–Yugoslaviasanctionscommitteein 1998, and theSecurity Councilpanel onIraqin 1999. Amorim was named as Brazil's permanent ambassador to the United Nations and theWTOlater that year, and served for two years before becoming ambassador to the United Kingdom in 2001.

WTO controversy

On July 19, 2008, Amorim stirred up controversy by comparing the descriptions used by wealthier countries to characterize the agricultural concessions they were offering during theDoha Roundof WTO talks to the work ofNazipropagandistJoseph Goebbels.This brought a swift condemnation from theU.S. State Department.

Later career

Celso serves on the Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance, chaired byMadeleine AlbrightandIbrahim Gambari.In November 2016, he was appointed byUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moonto the High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, co-chaired byRuth Dreifuss,former President ofSwitzerland,andFestus Mogae,former President ofBotswana.

In addition, Celso holds a number of honorary positions, including the following:

• Unitaid,Chair of the Executive Board (since 2017)
• Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), Member of the Board of Advisors

In 2019, Amorim joined the inaugural meeting of the Puebla Group in Buenos Aires, a conference of left-leaning political leaders.

Personal life

Amorim is married to Ana Maria Amorim and has four children: Vicente, Anita, João, and Pedro.