According to the Charter of the Organization of American States:
- The Secretary General shall direct the General Secretariat, be the legal representative thereof, and [...] be responsible to the General Assembly for the proper fulfillment of the obligations and functions of the General Secretariat.
- The Secretary General of the Organization shall be elected by the General Assembly for a five-year term and may not be reelected more than once or succeeded by a person of the same nationality. In the event that the office of Secretary General becomes vacant, the Assistant Secretary General shall assume his duties until the General Assembly shall elect a new Secretary General for a full term.
- The Secretary General, or his representative, may participate with voice but without vote in all meetings of the Organization.
- The Secretary General may bring to the attention of the General Assembly or the Permanent Council any matter which in his opinion might threaten the peace and security of the Hemisphere or the development of the Member States.
Secretaries General of the OAS
| Period | Name | Country |
| 1948 – 1954 | Alberto Lleras Camargo | Colombia |
| 1954 – 1955 | Carlos Dávila Died while in office |
Chile |
| 1956 – 1968 | José A. Mora | Uruguay |
| 1968 – 1975 | Galo Plaza | Ecuador |
| 1975 – 1984 | Alejandro Orfila | Argentina |
| 1984 – 1994 | João Clemente Baena Soares | Brazil |
| 1994 – 2004 | César Gaviria Re-elected to a second term at the 1999 General Assembly |
Colombia |
| Sept. – October 2004 | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Resigned |
Costa Rica |
| October 2004 – present | Luigi R. Einaudi Acting Secretary General |
United States |
The Acephalous OAS of 2004–2005
This article documents a current event and may change rapidly. |
Following the 15 October 2004 resignation of Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Assistant Secretary General Luigi R. Einaudi stepped into the breach as a temporary measure. After a period of uncertainty lasting several months, it was decided that rather than wait until the regular General Assembly (slated to take place in Fort Lauderdale, USA, in June 2005), a special session of the General Assembly would be held at OAS headquarters on 7 April 2005; that date was later changed to 11 April, due to Pope John Paul II's funeral. At that meeting, the foreign ministers of the American nations (or their plenipotentiary representatives) will elect the new Secretary General from among the following two candidates:
- Luis Ernesto Derbez, current foreign minister of Mexico. President Vicente Fox officially launched his nomination on 7 December 2004. Besides Mexico, Derbez claims to have the support of Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Honduras, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
- José Miguel Insulza, current interior minister of Chile. His nomination was announced on 9 December 2004, and made official four days later. Besides Chile, Insulza claims the support of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela and Uruguay. CARICOM officials have stated Insulza has a strong support within their member states.
On 8 April 2005, former president of El Salvador Francisco Flores withdrew from the race. He was a "joint Central American" candidate to replace Rodríguez (consensus was that it was Central America's "turn" to head the OAS). Although Flores initially appeared a promising choice, as the negotiations progressed Ricardo Maduro of Honduras said his country would be unable to support him, and no alternative consensus candidate emerged. The U.S. State Department had repeatedly said it wanted a Central American ex-president, and that Flores was its man. Flores also had the endorsement of El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Current tally
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Undeclared
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All 34 active member nations of the OAS are entitled to one vote each.
Assistant Secretaries General of the OAS
- William Manger (United States) (1948-1958)
- William Sanders (United States) (1958-1968)
- M. Rafael Urquía (El Salvador) (1968-1975)
- Jorge Luis Zelaya Coronado (Guatemala) (1975-1980)
- Val T. McComie (Barbados) (1980-1990)
- Christopher R. Thomas (Trinidad and Tobago) (1990-2000)
- Luigi R. Einaudi (United States) (2000-present)
External links
- America: Region Divided in Three by Race for OAS Leadership (ipsnews.net, 17 March 2005)
- Mexican-Chilean Partnership – "No matter the outcome of the OAS race, one of its certain casualties has been the Mexican-Chilean partnership." (Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 7 April 2005)