Fernando Berckemeyer Pazos

Fernando Berckemeyer Pazos built his career around the United States and Britain. Born in 1904 and educated at Notre Dame, he entered Peru’s foreign service in the 1920s. Consular assignments in American cities preceded service in wartime London and appointment as ambassador to Britain. He served two Washington ambassadorships, separated by several years outside the post. ^{1, 2}

Berckemeyer and his wife Claribel cultivated a wide circle of political, financial, and cultural acquaintances. Their collection of Spanish and Peruvian art was lent for exhibition, while their diplomatic residence became a setting for entertaining. A later account drawing on family recollections describes his friendships with John and Jacqueline Kennedy, David Rockefeller, and Robert McNamara. ^{1, 2}

His return under Juan Velasco’s military government involved difficult disputes over expropriated American property and fishing rights. In February 1969 Secretary of State William Rogers summoned him after a confrontation involving American tuna boats. In September 1971 he joined Foreign Minister Edgardo Mercado Jarrín’s discussion with Henry Kissinger about access to international credit and Peru’s political direction. ^{3, 4}

After retiring in 1975, he advised Peruvian agencies and international banks on economic and financial matters. He died in Lima in 1981. ⁵