Brazilian Luiz Felipe de Seixas Corrêa is one of the four nominated candidates for the position of WTO Director-General who introduced themselves to members of the organization at a formal General Council meeting on January 26.
The selection process is under way for the appointment of a WTO Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Dr. Supachai Panichpakdi, whose term expires on 31 August 2005.
By the closing date for nominations, on December 31, 2004, four candidates had been nominated by their respective governments. The selection process will conclude with a decision by the WTO General Council no later than May 31, 2005.
The other three candidates are Carlos Pérez del Castillo of Uruguay, Jaya Krishna Cuttaree of Mauritius and Pascal Lamy of France
Seixas Corrêa was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 16, 1945. He joined the Brazilian Foreign Service as Third Secretary in 1967, after graduating from the Preparatory Course for the Diplomatic Career of the Rio Branco Institute.
He also obtained a Law degree at the Cândido Mendes University in Rio de Janeiro in 1967.
As Second Secretary, he was posted to the Brazilian Embassy in Bonn (1970/71); to the Brazilian Mission to the United Nations in New York (1971/74); and to the Brazilian Embassy in Buenos Aires (1974/76).
As Counselor, he was posted to Washington (1979/83) and, as Minister-Counselor, to the Brazilian Mission to the UNESCO, in Paris (1985/87).
In the Ministry of External Relations, he was assigned to the Department of the Americas (1967/69), to the Department for International Organizations (1977/78), and to the Department for Asia, Africa and Oceania (1978/79).
He served twice in the President’s Office in Brasília. Between 1983 and 1985, he acted as Special Advisor to the Minister Chief of the Civilian Household. Later, between 1987 and 1989, he was the Chief Foreign Affairs Advisor to Brazil’s President.
Having been promoted to the rank of Ambassador in 1987, he was appointed Chief of Mission in Mexico in 1989.
From there, in 1992, he returned to Brazil as Secretary-General (Deputy-Minister) of the Ministry of External Relations.
He was subsequently Ambassador in Spain (1993/97) and in Argentina (1997/1998).
Between 1999 and 2001 he was appointed, for the second time, to the post of Secretary-General (Deputy-Minister) of the Ministry of External Relations.
Since January 4, 2002, Ambassador Luiz Felipe de Seixas Correa is the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the World Trade Organization and to the United Nations in Geneva.
Throughout his career, he took part in many international conferences under the aegis of the United Nations and of the Mercosul.
More recently, he was member of the Brazilian delegation to the WTO Ministerials of Doha (2001) and Cancun (2003).
In Geneva, he chaired the WTO Working Group on Investment (2002/2003) and the International Negotiating Body (INB) of the World Health Organization that successfully negotiated and approved the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2002/2003).
WTO
