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Biography of Galo Plaza LassoName: Galo Plaza LassoBirth Date: February 17, 1906 Death Date: January 28, 1987 Place of Birth: New York, New York, United States Nationality: Ecuadorian Gender: Male Occupations: statesman, president Galo Plaza Lasso The Ecuadorian statesman Galo Plaza Lasso (1906-1987) was his country's most modern-minded president, and he distinguished himself in the service of international organizations.Galo Plaza Lasso was born on February 17, 1906, in New York, when his father, Gen. Leonidas Plaza Gutiérrez, a former president of Ecuador, was on his way to serve as Ecuadorian minister in Washington. Within a few years the family returned to Ecuador, where the elder Plaza came to occupy the presidency a second time (1912-1916). After completing his primary and secondary education in Quito, young Plaza went back to the United States and attended the universities of California (Berkeley) and of Maryland and Georgetown University.Back in Ecuador in 1932, Plaza introduced modern techniques in the administration of the family estate, particularly in dairy farming, and his improvements were widely imitated. Soon he entered politics, helped by a personal background that included his father's role as standard-bearer of …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…Cyprus, a mission which turned out to be surprisingly successful in the face of extremely serious difficulties.On February 13, 1968, Plaza was elected secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS). Thereafter Plaza was able to reorganize the secretariat of the organization so as to render it more efficient, and he gave the OAS the dynamic and straightforward leadership which it had been sadly lacking. After leaving the OAS in 1975, Plaza went back to Ecuador as an elder statesman, helping to mediate his country's internal struggles. He was also active in the Inter-American Dialogue. Plaza died of a heart attack on January 28, 1987 in Ecuador. Further Reading Plaza's political career is discussed in George I. Blanksten, Ecuador: Constitutions and Caudillos (1951), and Edwin E. Erickson and others, Area Handbook for Ecuador (1966). (Tenenbaum, Barbara, ed.) Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1996.The New York Times Biographical Service, January 28, 1987. |