Inocencio Arias

Inocencio F. Arias , también conocido como Chencho (nacido el 20 de abril de 1940 en Albox , provincia de Almería ), es un diplomático español polifacético que se desempeñó como cónsul general en Los Ángeles , California, Estados Unidos. Se retiró en 2010.

Su anterior cargo fue el de Representante Permanente de España ante las Naciones Unidas en Nueva York . En el Consejo de Seguridad presidió el Comité Antiterrorista de las Naciones Unidas. Previamente, fue Secretario de Estado para la Cooperación Internacional y Asuntos Iberoamericanos (1991-1993) y Subsecretario de Relaciones Exteriores (1988-1991). ^{[ 1 ]}

En el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores , Arias fue Director de la Oficina de Información Diplomática y portavoz del Departamento bajo administraciones democráticas muy diferentes: de centro, 1980-82; socialista, 1985-88; y de centroderecha, 1996-97. Durante su carrera diplomática, prestó servicio en Bolivia , Argelia y Portugal .

Participó en varias conferencias internacionales: la Cumbre de la Tierra ( Río de Janeiro, 1992); Consejos Europeos (1986, 1987, 1988, 1996); Cumbre de la OTAN (Madrid, 1997); Cumbre de Oriente Medio (Madrid, 1991) y Cumbre del Movimiento de Países No Alineados ( Yakarta , 1992); Cumbres Iberoamericanas ( Ciudad de México , 1991; Madrid, 1992; Bahía , 1993; Santiago de Chile, 1996).

Ha sido miembro de la delegación española en los períodos de sesiones 36º, 37º, 40º-43º y 51º-57º de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas .

Arias, who holds a degree in Law and joined the diplomatic service in 1967, also has a considerable experience outside the diplomatic world. He was General Director of the football Club Real Madrid (1993–95). He also has experienced the academic field, having been professor of International Relations at the Complutense University and at the University Carlos III, both in Madrid. Mr. Arias is the author of several books, papers and contributions, among others, on political issues and international relations. His latest title, "Confesiones de un diplomatico" (Publisher: Planeta), is about the events leading up to the Iraq invasion inside the U.N. Security Council, interspersed with U.S. famous historic events as well as the entertainment industry and U.S. pastimes viewed from a Spanish/European perspective. Martin Prieto in "El Mundo" writes that Arias, after examining the origins and development of the Iraq war, states that without the terrorist attack of March 2003 in Madrid the center-right Popular Party would have won the elections of that year and examines the European antiamericanism plus the American ignorance of Europe. M. Prieto concludes that the book is balanced and informative and with a lot of the sense of humour that Mr. Arias distills. Perez Maura in "ABC" said that Arias "has written an enjoyable and illuminating book with some truly hilarious pages". In addition, Mr. Arias authored a book about three famous football stars ("Los Tres Mitos del Real Madrid"): Di Stéfano, Butragueño and Raúl; and edited a multilingual international soccer dictionary during the Football World Cup hosted by Spain in 1982. In February 2010 Arias published "La Trastienda de la Diplomacia" (Ed. Plaza Janés)(The backroom of diplomacy) that describes with humor and insight some 25 international encounters. The book had a fast second printing because the first one was sold out in three weeks.

Arias made the headlines in August 2003, when he was recalled from New York with immediate effect, despite the fact that he was officially on holiday. The mainstream media seemed to agree ^[2] stating "it's no secret that the Spanish government is unhappy with comments made by Arias" who said that "if weapons of mass destruction were not found in Iraq, the justification of the decision to go to war would be undermined". The government said, however, that the ambassador returned for 'professional reasons'.^[3]

• Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Consulado español en Los Ángeles