Guido Di Tella

Guido Di Tella (1931–2001) was an economist, cultural patron, and Peronist politician. He trained as an industrial engineer at the University of Buenos Aires and earned a doctorate in economics at MIT, then taught in Argentina and held an association with St Antony's College, Oxford. With his brother Torcuato he founded the Instituto Torcuato Di Tella in 1958, supporting research and experimental art. The brothers later established the university bearing their father's name in 1991. ¹

Di Tella held economic and cultural posts before becoming a national deputy and, under President Carlos Menem, ambassador to the United States in 1989–91. In Washington he helped pursue Menem's closer alignment with the United States. A brief appointment as defense minister preceded his eight year tenure as foreign minister, from 1991 to 1999. ^{1, 2}

As foreign minister, Di Tella pursued practical reconciliation with Britain and the Falkland Islanders while retaining Argentina's sovereignty claim. He led Argentina's delegation in the July 1999 London negotiations and signed the joint statement with Foreign Secretary Robin Cook. It provided for visits using Argentine passports, renewed Chile–islands flights with stops in mainland Argentina, and cooperation on fisheries conservation. The agreement also addressed an Argentine war memorial and the examination of mine clearance costs, using a formula that preserved the parties' sovereignty positions. ³

His final years included prosecution over illegal arms exports to Ecuador and Croatia. The case against him was halted in 2001 on health grounds, according to his contemporary obituary. He died in Buenos Aires on December 31, 2001. ²