José Juan de Olloqui y Labastida

José Juan de Olloqui began his career at the Bank of Mexico in 1951 and trained in law at UNAM, later completing a master's degree in economics at George Washington University. He worked in the Finance Ministry's banking, currency, investment, and credit offices. Before becoming ambassador, he spent several years in Washington as an executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank and represented Mexico in the Alliance for Progress machinery. ¹

As ambassador, de Olloqui pressed Washington over the salt content of Colorado River water delivered to Mexico. In April 1971, he told National Security Council official Arnold Nachmanoff that a salinity agreement was his government's principal outstanding bilateral concern. He then met Henry Kissinger, who explained the domestic political obstacles to accepting Mexico's demands. ²

De Olloqui later served as undersecretary of foreign relations and ambassador to Britain. He continued writing and speaking on diplomacy and law. At UNAM in 2002, he argued that cooperation with the United States after the September 11 attacks should remain tied to international law and Mexico's national interests. He also advocated diversifying trade and oil markets to widen Mexico's foreign policy choices. ³