On Wednesday, 1 May 2024, we welcomed Juan Gabriel Valdes, Chile’s Ambassador to the United States, to our dinner meeting. Even though Chile’s trade with China is greater than with the U.S., Chile is one of the U.S.’s strongest partners in Latin America.  Chile is a leader in promoting respect for the rule of law, economic stability, education, environmental protection, human rights and sustainable development.

Ambassador Valdes took up his current post in June 2022.  He was Chile’s Foreign Minister (1999 – 2000).  His overseas posts include:  Ambassador to the U.S. (2014 – 2-18), to Spain and Argentina.

In New York, he served as Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations (2000 – 2004), Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Chief of the UN Mission to Haiti (2004-2006) and Member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Mediations.

He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Princeton and has been a researcher and visiting professor at several universities around the world.  He is the author of “Pinochet’s Economists: The Chicago School of Economists” and other publications.