Ricardo Rivera Schreiber
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Ricardo Ernesto Víctor Rivera Schreiber, GBE (11 November 1892 – 25 July 1969) was a Peruvian diplomat who served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
between 1952 and 1954.


Early life

Rivera Schreiber was born in 1892 in Lima, the eldest son of Ricardo Rivera Navarrete and Madilte Schreiber Waddington. His father, a grandson of a precursor of the
Peruvian independence Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 m ...
, was a hero of the
War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...
and a member of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. His mother was the daughter of the
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
consul in
Huaraz Huaraz () (from Quechua: ''Waraq'' or ''Warash'', "''dawn''"), formerly designated as San Sebastián de Huaraz, is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the Ancash Region (State of Ancash) and the seat of government of Huaraz Province. The urb ...
(
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
) and the granddaughter of a prominent British merchant who was established in the same town. He was educated at the Recoleta Sacred Heart School and
University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established ( privilege by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) and the oldest continu ...
, where he obtained the bachelor and doctor degrees in
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
in 1915. Briefly, he worked as rapporteur of the High Council of Mines. He married Mercedes Urquidi de Tezanos Pinto in 1919 and remarried Teresa Kroll Müller in 1940. In 1917 Schreiber entered the diplomatic service. He was nominated Secretary of the Peruvian legation in
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
and appointed Secretary of the Peruvian Delegation to the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
in 1919. He was then appointed successively as Second Secretary (1920) and Chargé d'affaires (1921–26) in London, where he represented his country in the Centennial Celebrations of the Peruvian Independence in 1921. Subsequently, he was
Charge d'Affaires Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aq ...
at
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in 1926 and promoted to Minister to Ecuador in 1928. However, in 1930 he requested his retirement from active diplomatic service due to dissent with the Government on the foreign policy with Ecuador. Schreiber returned to Lima, where he performed as
legal counsel A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...
of the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation and as professor of international law at the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (, PUCP) is a private university in Lima, Peru. It was founded in 1917 with the support and approval of the Catholic church, being the oldest private institution of higher learning in the country. The Peru ...
. In 1934 he was appointed Special Delegate to the Peruvian-Colombian Commission in Washington, D.C., on the crisis of the
Leticia Incident Leticia (derived from the Latin greeting ''laetitia'' meaning ''joy'', ''gladness'', ''delight'') may refer to: People ;Given name * Saint Leticia, a venerated virgin martyr, saint * Queen Letizia of Spain (born 1972), queen consort of Spain * ...
. In 1936 he returned to the active service as Minister Plenipotentiary to China and Japan. Briefly, he was moved to
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, where he signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1938. By April 1941, while he was posted in Tokyo, Schreiber was informed that the Japanese would enter the war with an attack on
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
and warned the
United States Embassy The United States has the second largest number of active diplomatic posts of any country in the world after the People's Republic of China, including 272 bilateral posts (embassies and consulates) in 174 countries, as well as 11 permanent miss ...
. The
U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...
disqualified the report and when the naval base was attacked nine months later, he was confined under
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
in the Japanese mountains at Miyanoshita. The Peruvian and American missions were evacuated from Japan in June 1942 on the ''
Asama Maru was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The ship was built in 1927–1929 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel was named after an important Shinto shrine. ''Asama Maru'' set a reco ...
'' and were later exchanged for Japanese diplomats in
Lourenço Marques Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...
. In 1943 he was appointed Ambassador to Spain. Retaining this posting, Schreiber was President of the Peruvian Delegation to the Preparatory Commission for the United Nations and was nominated Vice-President of its Legal Committee in 1945. The following year, he was appointed Ambassador to Italy and Delegate to the First United Nations Assembly celebrated in London. From 1949 to 1952 he was Ambassador to the United Kingdom. In 1952 President Odría appointed him
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
. During his office, the Diplomatic Academy was created and was enacted the Diplomatic Service Regulation in 1953. When Prime Minister Zenón Noriega was sent to exile accused of organized a coup against Odría in August 1954, he resigned. That same year, Schreiber returned to London as ambassador, a posting he remained until his retirement in 1963. He died in July 1969 in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.


Honours

Rivera Schreiber was invested as a
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(Hon.) in 1926 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order (Hon.) in 1962. He was also a Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, a Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...
and a Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...
. On 8 June 1947 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of Magistral Grace of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...
. For his services to the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, the Pope invested him as a Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Sylvester The Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester (, ), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five orders of knighthood awarded directly by the Pope as Supreme Pontiff and hea ...
and Grand Officer of the
Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...
(GCSG) and awarded him the
Papal Lateran Cross The Lateran Cross () is a medal for recognition of merit. It was bestowed by the Cathedral chapter of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran with authorisation of the Holy See. History The Lateran Cross was commissioned by Pope Leo XIII, and in ...
. Anuario eclesiástico del Perú, p. 27
/ref> He was a member of
The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law () is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taught in English and French and, except for External ...
, the International Law Association of London, l'
Académie Diplomatique Internationale The Académie Diplomatique Internationale (ADI; ') was an international organization based in Paris, France, focused on modern diplomacy and international affairs. Founded in 1926, the ADI was, along with Chatham House The Royal Institute ...
and the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence of Madrid. Rivera Schreiber was also a member of the Administrative Council of the
Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
(1926–29), President of the Anglo-Peruvian Society and President of the Peruvian Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera Schreiber 1892 births 1969 deaths Politicians from Lima Peruvian diplomats Peruvian Roman Catholics Peruvian people of Spanish descent Foreign ministers of Peru Ambassadors of Peru to the United Kingdom