Francisco Bustillo
Francisco Bustillo in 2022
Minister of Foreign Relations of Uruguay
In office
July 6, 2020 – November 1, 2023
PresidentLuis Lacalle Pou
Preceded byErnesto Talvi
Uruguay Ambassador to Spain
In office
October 2, 2012 – July 1, 2020
Preceded byCarlos Pita
Uruguay Ambassador to Argentina
In office
March 1, 2005 – March 1, 2010
Succeeded byGuillermo Pomi
Personal details
Born (1960-04-01) April 1, 1960 (age 63)
Montevideo, Uruguay
OccupationDiplomat

Francisco Carlos Bustillo Bonasso (born April 1, 1960) is a Uruguayan diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Relations of Uruguay from July 6, 2020 to November 1, 2023.[1]

Bustillo entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay by merit competition on January 1, 1986. He has held several positions in Montevideo and abroad, such as the Director of Institutional Affairs and Bilateral Economic Affairs of the Ministry.[2] He was also named Ambassador of Uruguay to Spain in October, 2012.

Career

Diplomatic positions

On April 1, 2005, he was appointed by President Tabaré Vázquez as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uruguay in Argentine Republic, a position he held for 5 years.[3] In 2010, President José Mujica replaced him with Guillermo Pomi. And on October 2, 2012, he appointed Bustillo as Ambassador of Uruguay to Spain.[4]

Political positions

Bustillo with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in April 2022
Bustillo with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias in February 2023

In late June 2020, it was confirmed that Bustillo would replace Ernesto Talvi as Minister of Foreign Relations of Uruguay, who presented his resignation,[5] stating "It has been a privilege to serve the citizens of Uruguay from the Foreign Ministry at this time in which it was necessary to face extremely complex challenges".[6] Finally, on July 1, it was confirmed that Bustillo would take office on Monday, July 6.[7] The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs is Carolina Ache Batlle.[8]

In September 2020, UN Watch exposed Uruguay’s vote for a UN resolution that singled out Israel alone in the world for supposedly violating women’s rights. Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo declared that his country’s UN vote against Israel was a “circumstantial error,” and removed the foreign ministry’s director-general of political affairs, Ambassador Pablo Sader, and that Uruguay’s “foreign policy will keep its historical stance to defend the rights of Israel.”[9]

Resignation

On 1 November 2023, Bustillo resigned as foreign minister after audio messages were published in which he appeared to ask former deputy Foreign Minister Carolina Ache to not hand over her phone to investigators to prevent access to conversations Ache had with another official relating to the granting of a passport to Sebastian Marset, whom the latter official called a “dangerous” drug trafficker, while he was detained in the United Arab Emirates in 2021.[10]

References

  1. ^ Redacción. "Bustillo renunció tras la divulgación de audios con Ache sobre el caso Marset". El Observador. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  2. ^ Kortysz, Sofía (10 July 2020). "A million friends" (in Spanish). Brecha.
  3. ^ "Francisco Bustillo, actual embajador de Uruguay en España, será el próximo Canciller". subrayado.com.uy (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  4. ^ "Senado votó la venia a Bustillo". 2012-10-05. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  5. ^ de 2020, 1 de Julio. "Canciller de Uruguay Ernesto Talvi renuncia a cargo". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-02.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Talvi presentó su carta de renuncia: "Mi intención era seguir hasta fin de año"". Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  7. ^ "Este lunes Francisco Bustillo asumirá como canciller de la República". Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  8. ^ "Bustillo ya es el canciller y Ache fue confirmada en el cargo de subsecretaria". Diario La República (in Spanish). 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  9. ^ "Success: Top Uruguay Diplomat Fired for Anti-Israel Vote, After UN Watch Protest". 5 October 2020.
  10. ^ Politi, Dante (2 November 2023). "Uruguay's foreign minister resigns following leak of audios related to a passport scandal". Associated Press.


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