Jorge Marques Leitão Ritto (born January 3, 1936,

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

) is a Portuguese

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

known for his career in

international diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

. His diplomatic service spanned several decades, with assignments in various countries and roles in international organizations such as

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Early life

Jorge Marques Leitão Ritto was born in 1936 in Lisbon, Portugal. He pursued education at the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

, where he earned a degree in Historical and Philosophical Sciences. During his time at the university, Ritto served as an assistant professor in the Faculty of Letters, specializing in philosophy.

Career

Ritto entered the Portuguese

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1961, a career that saw him hold various posts around the world. His assignments included: * Consul in Canada,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(1962): Ritto began his diplomatic career as a consul in Toronto, representing Portuguese interests in Canada. * Legation Secretary, Embassy in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(1964): He served as a legation secretary during a period of political instability in the region. * Consul in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(1969–1971): Ritto’s tenure in Stuttgart was cut short after German authorities raised concerns about his alleged involvement with an underage boy in a public park, leading to his recall to Lisbon. This incident, reported by the Portuguese magazine ''

Visão ''Visão'' is a Portuguese news magazine published weekly in Lisbon, Portugal. History and profile ''Visão'' was first published on 25 March 1993. The magazine is the successor to the weekly newspaper ''O Jornal'' which was published between 197 ...

'', marked an early controversy in his career. * Embassy Adviser,

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism ...

(CSCE), Geneva (1973–1975): Ritto played a role in the CSCE, a diplomatic effort aimed at easing

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

tensions in Europe. * Member of the Portuguese Delegation to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

(1975): He represented Portugal in the Special Political Committee during the UN General Assembly. * Adviser, Permanent Mission of Portugal to

(1976–1981): Ritto served as an adviser to Portugal’s Permanent Mission to UNESCO in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1977, he participated in the CSCE meeting in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. From July 1979, he was appointed chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Mission when Ambassador Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo was named

Prime Minister of Portugal The prime minister of Portugal (; ) is the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, is accountable to Ass ...

. * Ambassador to UNESCO (until 2001): Ritto served as Portugal’s Permanent Delegate Representative to

. He retired from this position in January 2001, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 for Portuguese diplomats serving abroad. After his retirement, Ritto briefly served as a coordinator for ocean and maritime law matters under the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Directorate-General for Multilateral Affairs until his formal retirement was recognized in July 2002. In 1991, Ritto received the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

from

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portugal, Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the List of Presidents of P ...

for his services to Portugal as an ambassador in various countries. In 2013, Ritto was convicted for three crimes of a sexual nature and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison. In 2015, he was expelled from the Order due to his conviction in the Casa Pia child sexual abuse scandal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rito, Jorge Portuguese diplomats Ambassadors of Portugal to Morocco Ambassadors of Portugal to South Africa Portuguese people convicted of child sexual abuse 1936 births Living people Permanent delegates of Portugal to UNESCO