Guillermo Patterson y de Jáuregui

Guillermo Patterson y de Jáuregui was born in Havana in 1868 and graduated from its university’s law school. He entered Cuba’s foreign service as consul in Liverpool in 1902, became consul general in Britain, and subsequently served in Spain and Hamburg. Back in Havana, he led the protocol division and rose through senior foreign ministry posts. ¹

His international assignments included the 1917 commission preparing a treaty with the United States and service at the League of Nations. He became minister to Britain in 1925 and chaired Cuba’s League delegation in 1934. The following February he presented credentials in Washington, succeeding Manuel Márquez Sterling. ¹

On 15 April 1935, Patterson signed the Roerich Pact for Cuba. The agreement sought protection for monuments, museums, and scientific, educational, and cultural institutions during war and peace, with protection withdrawn if they were used for military purposes. He was appointed to Mexico in 1937, but died before taking up that mission. ^{2, 3}