Brazilian diplomat born in the city of Rio de Janeiro, who, although he did not have a career at the Itamaraty, worked at the UN for almost 35 years and became the best Brazilian successful within the UN hierarchy, a great administrator of conflicts, always being assigned to difficult missions, mainly the reconstruction of countries devastated by wars. Son of ambassador Vieira de Mello and Gilda dos Santos, 83 years old, he studied at the Liceu Franco-Brasileiro where he obtained his bachelor's degree (1966).
He went to Paris where he studied Licence d'enseignement en philosophie, Faculté des Lettres, Université de Paris (1966-1969), Maitrise d'enseignement en philosophie, Faculté des Lettres, Université de Paris (1969-1970) and the Doctorat de Troisième Cycle en Philosophie, Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne (1970-1974). In addition to Portuguese and French, he spoke English, Spanish and Italian. In Paris he met his wife, with whom he had two children, Laurent and Adrian, who live in Geneva and Paris respectively. While still a student he was junior editor of the publications of the UN High Commission for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland (1969-1971), the well-known UNHCR or UNHCR. Ascending through the UNHCR hierarchy, he was appointed to coordinate humanitarian aid operations in Pakistan (1971-1972), Sudan (1973-1974), Cyprus (1974-1975), Mozambique (1975-1977), Peru (1978-1980) and Lebanon (1981-1983). Returning to Geneva he was Deputy Head (1983-1985), Chief of Staff of the Secretariat of the High Commission (1986-1987) and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Oceania (1988-1990) of the UNHCR.
As Director of the External Relations Division (1990-1993), UNHCR., He coordinated the negotiations in the Rwandan conflict (1990-1991) and the exodus of Albanians from the country after the fall of the communism (1991). He served as special envoy of the High Commission in Cambodia (991-1992). He was sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993), where he assumed the head of civil affairs for the UN forces (1993-1994) trying to intervene in the Yugoslav conflict. He became Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees (1995-1996). Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees (1996-1997), he was taken by the Secretary General Kofi Annan for New York (1998), where the post of Under Secretary General for Affairs awaited him Humanitarians. He spent a brief stint in the province of Kosovo (1999), then Yugoslavia, before receiving a major His career task: the interim government of East Timor, during its independence process (1999-2002).
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In a country devastated by the turmoil that followed the Indonesian withdrawal from that former Portuguese colony, his role was vital for the people to finally become independent (2002). Known for the competence and undeniable sympathy with which he acted in his high-risk missions, in September of That same year he was appointed to the High Commission for Human Rights, a decision highly praised by NGOs in the sector. For these reasons, he was Annan's first choice to take up the mission in Iraq, after the controversial Anglo-American military action that toppled Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately, this talented Brazilian was the victim of the biggest attack on a UN installation in history, which killed him in Baghdad, along with 19 other people, at the age of 55, on August 19th.
Picture copied from the UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS website:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/hchr/cv.htm
Source: Biographies - Academic Unit of Civil Engineering / UFCG
Order S - Biography - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
COSTA, Keilla Renata. "Sérgio Vieira de Mello"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/sergio-vieira-mello.htm. Accessed on July 27, 2021.