Seton Hill University will host Jorge Gumucio, Ph.D., former Bolivian vice minister of Foreign Affairs and ambassador to the United Nations, on Tuesday, March 16, at 2 p.m. in Reeves Theatre, which is located on the University’s hilltop campus in Greensburg, Pa. The event is open to the public and there is no fee to attend. Seating is limited. This event is sponsored by Seton Hill University’s Division of Humanities, Spanish Club and World Affairs Forum. For more information, contact 724-830-1148.

Gumucio, who resides in Pittsburgh, Pa., will discuss his experience as the ambassador of Bolivia to the United Nations and to Peru. While Gumucio served as the Bolivian ambassador to Peru, he was one of 72 hostages held at Lima’s Japanese Embassy from December 1996 to April 1997 by the Movimiento Revolucionano Tupac Amaru (MRTA), a communist revolutionary group active in Peru from 1980-1997.

From 2000-2005, Gumucio worked with the Bolivian Foreign Relations Ministry. In 2003, he was appointed the Bolivian vice minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he had previously held (1988-1989, 1993-1994). One of his main objectives was the institutionalization of Bolivia’s diplomatic services, which included elaborating the Foreign Services Act that passed Congress, directing Bolivia’s Diplomatic Academy, and training and developing a new generation of Bolivian diplomats.

Gumucio strengthened Bolivia’s bilateral and multilateral relations by serving as the Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations from 1994-2000. He was instrumental in negotiating and opening diplomatic relations between Bolivia with a number of countries, including Albania, Arab United Emirates, China, Ghana, Kuwait and Vietnam.

Prior to serving as the Bolivian ambassador, Gumucio worked at the United Nations as the director of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima, Peru.

Gumucio obtained both his Doctor of Philosophy degree in sociology and Master of Arts degree in sociology and Latin American studies from the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres.