Gerardo Werthein (born 3 December 1955) is an Argentine businessman and diplomat serving as the minister of foreign affairs, international trade and worship of Argentina since 30 October 2024. He previously served as the ambassador of Argentina to the United States from April to October 2024.

Biography

Werthein was born into a Russian family of Jewish origin. His great-grandfather, Leon Werthein, emigrated from

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

to Argentina in 1904 with his wife Ana Jajam and their four children, Gregorio, Elisa, Numo, and Israel, fleeing the persecution of Jewish people by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The Werthein family began extensive livestock activities in the country, eventually forming one of Argentina's most important economic conglomerates, the Werthein Group, which, among other things, became owners of the telecommunications company Telecom Argentina. Werthein served as president of the

Argentine Olympic Committee The Argentine Olympic Committee or COA ( - COA) is the National Olympic Committee representing Argentina's athletes in the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Pan American Games and the South American Games. It is based in Buenos Aires. ...

from 2009 to 2021. He has also been a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) and the Olympic Broadcasting Services since 2011, joining the IOC Executive Board as an "Executive Member" in 2020. During his tenure as president,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

was selected as the host city for the

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international multi-sport event, sports, cultural, and educational event held from 6 to 18 October 2018 ...

, which took place in October of that year.

Ambassador to the United States (2023–2024)

Following Javier Milei's electoral victory in the 2023 Argentine presidential elections, Werthein accompanied Milei on a trip to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and was present at the meetings Milei held with various figures, including

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. After Milei's presidential inauguration, he nominated Werthein as the Argentine ambassador to the United States. His appointment was finally approved by the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...

on April 18, 2024.

Foreign Minister (2024–present)

Werthein was appointed foreign minister by President Milei on 30 October 2024 following the dismissal of Diana Mondino. Wethein's inauguration featured a

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, on which Werthein swore to uphold his position faithfully.

References

1955 births Living people Argentine International Olympic Committee members Foreign ministers of Argentina Jewish Argentine politicians Jewish Argentine sportspeople Milei administration cabinet members Presidents of the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games Ambassadors of Argentina to the United States Argentine people of Russian-Jewish descent {{Argentina-sport-bio-stub