Ceremony for outgoing executive secretary of the Antractic Treaty

Today, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie met in his office with the outgoing Executive Secretary of the Antarctic Treaty, Manfred Reinke, and the incoming Executive Secretary, Albert Lluberas Bonaba, who will take office on 1 September. They exchanged opinions on the operation of the Secretariat in Buenos Aires since 2004 and the valuable role it plays within the Antarctic Treaty system.

After the meeting, an official reception was held in the Golden Room of the Palacio San Martín to bid farewell to Reinke and welcome Lluberas. The reception was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Guillermo Raimondi. The meeting served as an opportunity for both international officials to greet national authorities and foreign diplomatic representatives.

Reinke, a German national, served as Executive Secretary from 2009 to 2017 and pursued most of his work career at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), which is Germany’s scientific institution running its Antarctic programme. He was elected Executive Secretary of the Antarctic Treaty in 2009 and re-elected in 2013. During the eight years in which he served as Executive Secretary, Reinke stood out for his willingness and work to consolidate the Secretariat as a key institution of the Antarctic Treaty system and for his excellent relationship with national authorities.

As for Lluberas, from Uruguay, he has extensive experience in Antarctic matters. He served as Secretary General of the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute and participated many times in several Antarctic forums representing his country. He was elected to serve as Executive Secretary of the Antarctic Treaty for four years at the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in Beijing last May, thus becoming the first Latin American to hold an executive position in a body of the Antarctic Treaty system.

The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat is the administrative and steering body of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and started operating in Buenos Aires in 2004 at the venue provided by the Argentine State. Argentina, as an original signatory to the Antarctic Treaty and host country to the Secretariat, attaches special importance to its establishment in Buenos Aires and works towards its efficient operation and the full compliance with the commitments arising from the Host Country Agreement.

The Secretariat provides support to the Parties to the Antarctic Treaty and keeps a historical record of the reports and documents submitted by the Parties since the Washington Conference in 1995, in all four official languages of the system (www.ats.aq).

Press release No. 333/17
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