The remains of Peruvian Ambassador and former United Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar were interred in his family's crypt at the Presbitero Maestro Cemetery —after receiving the honors corresponding to a Head of State— in Lima on Saturday afternoon.
Earlier today, the coffin containing the ambassador's remains were transferred to San Pedro Church where a Mass was held in his memory.
The diplomat's relatives and friends joined the funeral to bid farewell to the illustrious Peruvian citizen, who left a mark on the history of worldwide diplomacy.
Representing the Executive Branch, the event was attended by Cabinet chief Vicente Zeballos, as well as
Ministers Gustavo Meza-Cuadra (Foreign Affairs), Sylvia Caceres (Labor-Employment Promotion), Ariela Luna (Development-Social Inclusion), and Walter Martos (Defense).
The official two-day funeral started last Friday at Torre Tagle Palace —the Foreign Affairs Ministry headquarters— and saw the presence of President Martin Vizcarra, ministers, and other dignitaries from the world of diplomacy.
It must be noted the Government declared March 6 and 7 as days of national mourning over the recent passing of Mr. Perez de Cuellar.
Among the measures established, the national flags must be raised at half-mast at all public buildings, military bases, ships, police stations and other Peruvian State agencies throughout the national territory. This also applies to all diplomatic missions, as well as consular and permanent representations of Peru abroad.
UN headquarters
Born in Lima in 1920,
Javier Perez de Cuellar joined Peru's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1940 and the diplomatic service in 1944.
He subsequently served as Secretary at the Peruvian embassies in France, the United Kingdom, Bolivia and Brazil, and as Counsellor and Minister Counsellor at the embassy in Brazil.
Having returned to Lima in 1961, he was promoted to the rank of Ambassador the following year, successively occupying the posts of Director of the Legal Department, Director of Administration, Director of Protocol and Director of Political Affairs.
Thus, he would later serve as a Peruvian Ambassador to different countries —including Switzerland, the Soviet Union, Poland, and Venezuela.
In 1966, he was appointed Secretary-General (Deputy Minister) for Foreign Affairs. In 1981, he served as Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1971, he was appointed Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations, and he led his country's delegation to all sessions of the Assembly from then until 1975.
In 1973 and 1974, he represented Peru in the Security Council, serving as Chair of the council at the time of the events in Cyprus in July 1974. On September 18, 1975, he was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus, a post he held until December 1977, when he rejoined his Foreign Service.
On February 27, 1979, he was appointed as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs.
From April 1981 —while still holding this post— he acted as the Secretary-General's Personal Representative on the situation relating to Afghanistan. In that capacity, he visited Pakistan and Afghanistan in April and August of that year in order to continue the negotiations initiated by the Secretary-General some months earlier.
He held that post between 1982 and 1991, in which he played an outstanding role in the ceasefire negotiations of diverse international conflicts.
Over the course of a successful diplomatic career and during his 10 years as Secretary-General of the United Nations, his tireless work for world peace and solidarity among peoples has been recognized in his country of origin and around the world.
Visionary and staunch advocate of multilateralism, and as chief representative of the UN, he called on countries to work on the
protection of the environment and towards sustainable development, thus initiating the debate over an issue that nowadays deserves global attention.
In his letter, the Secretary-General said that Mr. Perez de Cuellar had held such office with dignity and commitment starting in the 1980s and —indeed— through his last moments as Secretary-General in 1991 with the historic El Salvador peace accords, which were signed at the last minute of his term.
During the transition Government of former Peruvian President Valentin Paniagua (November 22, 2000 — July 28, 2001), Mr. Perez de Cuellar served as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.