Democracy in the Americas with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro

The HKS DC Alumni Council is pleased to host Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro for a discussion on democracy in the Americas.  Secretary General Almagro has been committed to ensuring “more rights for more people" and will discuss his work to ensure democracy, security and prosperity across the hemisphere. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer session.

Luis Almagro Lemes serves as the 10th Secretary General of the OAS, and joins a growing list of distinguished presenters to the HKS DC Alumni Council forums and events. Secretary Almagro has handled a range of issues including the corruption case against a former Guatemalan president, Haiti’s election crisis, establishing a mission to tackle graft in Honduras, and spearheading efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela. He is a trained lawyer and a career diplomat who has held diplomatic posts in China, Germany and Iran, and served as Foreign Minister of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. As Foreign Minister, he worked with the United States on the transfer of Guantánamo detainees, welcomed dozens of Syrian families who had been victims of the country´s conflict, and worked to restore relations between Cuba and the United States. In 2014, Foreign Policy magazine named him a Leading Global Thinker—one of only 10 decision makers in the world granted this distinction.

About the OAS

The OAS is the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C. from October1889 to April 1890. The OAS came into being in 1948 with the signing of the Charter of the OAS in Bogotá, Colombia. The OAS brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere. In addition, it has granted permanent observer status to 69 states, as well as to the European Union (EU). The OAS is at the crossroads of several critical hemispheric issues that range from marriage equality and freedom of the press, to restoring democracy in Venezuela.