Former U.S. Ambassador to Talk at UA about Relations with Cuba

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Lino Gutiérrez, former U.S. ambassador to Argentina and Nicaragua and a University of Alabama alumnus, will deliver a lecture and meet with faculty and students at The University of Alabama Monday, Nov. 2, and Tuesday, Nov. 3.

During his visit, he will speak on U.S.-Cuba relations at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Emeritus Committee for International Strategic Studies starting at 5:15 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Bryant Conference Center on the UA campus. He also will speak at a Latin American Studies seminar at 2 p.m. and an international business seminar at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 3.  

Gutiérrez earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972 and a master’s in Latin American studies in 1976, both at UA.

Gutiérrez is founder of Gutiérrez Global LLC, which provides strategic advice to corporations and nongovernmental organizations with overseas interests. He also served as senior adviser to the U.S. secretary of commerce on Latin America and Cuba transition issues from December 2007 to January 2009.

During his 29-year tenure with the U.S. State Department, Gutiérrez served as ambassador to Argentina from 2003 to 2006 and to Nicaragua from 1996 to 1999. Among his accomplishments, he negotiated with Argentina the first Container Security Agreement and the first Proliferation Security Agreement. He also served as the George F. Kennan Adviser and deputy commandant at the Naval War College in Washington, D.C. He emigrated from Cuba with his parents in the early 1960s, and his father taught mathematics at UA.

UA’s Latin American Studies Program and the department of history are hosts for his visit. For more details, contact Dr. Lawrence Clayton, interim chair of the history department, at 205/348-7100 or lclayton@simplecom.net.

Latin American Studies and the history department are part of The College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All-American Teams.