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Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco

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This article is about the Brazilian diplomat and writer born in 1930. For his father, the jurist and politician born in 1905, see Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco (Jurist). For his grand-uncle, the writer born in 1868, see Afonso Arinos.
Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco
Brazilian Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office
1990–1994
Brazilian Ambassador to the Holy See
In office
1986–1990
Brazilian Ambassador to Venezuela
In office
1983–1985
Federal Deputy for Guanabara
In office
1964–1966
Deputy to the Constituent and Legislative Assembly of Guanabara
In office
1960–1962
Personal details
Born(1930-11-11)11 November 1930
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died15 March 2020(2020-03-15) (aged 89)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
PartyUDN; MDB; PSB
Parent(s) Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco; Ana Guilhermina Pereira de Mello Franco
RelativesAfonso Arinos (grand-uncle); Afrânio de Melo Franco (grandfather)
Faculdade Nacional de Direito da Universidade do Brasil; Rio Branco Institute
OccupationDiplomat, politician, journalist, writer, professor
Known for
Member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras; Brazilian ambassador; writer on diplomacy and public life

Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco (11 November 1930 – 15 March 2020), also known as Afonso Arinos Filho, was a Brazilian diplomat, politician, journalist, professor and writer. He was a member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras, a career diplomat, a state and federal legislator for Guanabara, and Brazil's ambassador to Venezuela, the Holy See and the Netherlands.[1][2][3]

He was the son of the jurist, politician, historian and foreign minister Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco (1905–1990), and should not be confused with him. He was also distinct from his grand-uncle, the writer Afonso Arinos (1868–1916), an earlier member of the same family and author associated with Brazilian regionalist literature.[1][2]

Early life and family

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Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, on 11 November 1930. He was the son of Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco and Ana Guilhermina Pereira de Mello Franco.[1][2]

He belonged to a family closely associated with Brazilian law, diplomacy, politics and letters. His father served as federal deputy, senator, foreign minister and member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras; his grandfather Afrânio de Melo Franco was a diplomat and foreign minister; and his grand-uncle Afonso Arinos was a writer and also a member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras.[2][4]

Because of this family background and the recurrence of similar names, he was often referred to as Afonso Arinos Filho or Afonso Arinos, filho in Brazilian sources.[1][2]

Education

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Arinos studied law at the Faculdade Nacional de Direito of the University of Brazil, now part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, completing the bachelor's course in Legal and Social Sciences between 1949 and 1953.[1][2]

He also trained for the diplomatic career at the Rio Branco Institute between 1951 and 1952 and pursued further studies in public law at the Faculdade Nacional de Direito between 1954 and 1955.[1] In 1954, he completed the diplomat-improvement course at the Rio Branco Institute, and in 1955 he attended the Instituto Superior de Estudos Brasileiros.[1]

His later training reflected the breadth of his diplomatic and public career. He studied politics and international law in Rome in 1958, commercial promotion at the International Trade Centre of UNCTAD and GATT in Geneva in 1968, theoretical and applied economics at the graduate school of economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation in 1975, and completed courses at the Escola Superior de Guerra in 1975 and 1980.[1]

Diplomatic career

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Arinos entered the Brazilian diplomatic career in 1952 as a third-class consul. In 1953, he served as an intern in the Division of General Legal Questions of the Legal Department of the United Nations in New York.[1]

His early diplomatic work included service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro, including the divisions responsible for international organizations, political affairs and international conferences.[1] He also served abroad in Brazilian diplomatic posts, including Rome, Brussels, The Hague, Geneva, Washington and Porto.[2]

He was promoted to first secretary in 1961 and later to minister of first class in 1979.[1] As ambassador, he represented Brazil in Bolivia, Venezuela, the Holy See and the Netherlands. He also represented Brazil before the Permanent Court of Arbitration while serving in The Hague.[1][2]

From 1983 to 1985 he served as ambassador to Venezuela. From 1986 to 1990 he served as ambassador to the Holy See and was also accredited to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. From 1990 to 1994 he served as ambassador to the Netherlands.[2]

Political career

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Arinos also had a political career in the early 1960s. From 1960 to 1962, he served as a deputy in the Constituent and Legislative Assembly of the state of Guanabara, the state created after the transfer of Brazil's capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília.[1][2]

In the Guanabara assembly, he was a member of the Committee on Constitution and Justice in 1961 and president of the Committee on Education in 1962.[1][2] He was later elected federal deputy for Guanabara and served from 1964 to 1966. In the Chamber of Deputies, he was a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations in 1965 and 1966.[1][2]

After the 1964 military coup and the imposition of Brazil's two-party system in 1966, Arinos joined the MDB, the legal opposition party to the military regime.[2] In 1994, after leaving the diplomatic career, he joined the Brazilian Socialist Party and ran unsuccessfully for federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro.[2]

Journalism, teaching and cultural activity

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Alongside diplomacy and politics, Arinos worked in journalism and cultural commentary. He contributed to Manchete in 1955 and 1956, served as correspondent for Jornal do Brasil in Rome in 1957 and 1958, contributed to Tribuna da Imprensa in 1960 and 1961, and later worked with Fatos e Fotos / Gente, TV Educativa, Enciclopédia do Brasil Ilustrada, TV Manchete and Jornal do Commercio.[1]

He also wrote articles and gave interviews to periodicals such as A Época, O Metropolitano, A Noite, Correio Braziliense, Revista Civilização Brasileira, Manchete, Jornal do Brasil and Revista Nacional.[1]

In 1964 and 1965, he taught contemporary civilization in the Department of Journalism of the Central Institute of Letters at the University of Brasília.[1][2] His public career also included participation in cultural, legal, agricultural and international-relations organizations in Brazil and abroad.[1]

Academia Brasileira de Letras

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Arinos was elected to the Academia Brasileira de Letras on 22 July 1999, as the sixth occupant of Chair 17, succeeding Antônio Houaiss. He took office on 26 November 1999 and was received by academician and former president José Sarney.[1]

During his time at the academy, he received the historian José Murilo de Carvalho as a new member.[1] After Arinos's death in 2020, Chair 17 was later occupied by Fernanda Montenegro.[1]

Writings

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Arinos wrote memoirs, diplomatic reflections, literary essays, political commentary and works connected to his family and Brazil's intellectual history. His first memoir volume, Primo Canto: Memórias da mocidade, was published in 1976.[5]

His writings often combined personal memory, diplomatic observation and political history. In Tempestade no Altiplano: diário de um embaixador, published in 1998, he recorded experiences from his period as ambassador in Bolivia. In Diplomacia Independente: um legado de Afonso Arinos, published in 2002, he revisited the foreign-policy legacy of his father, who had served as foreign minister during the early 1960s.[5]

He also edited, introduced or organized works by or about other members of his family and the Brazilian literary tradition, including editions connected to Afonso Arinos, his father Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco, and the writer Carlos Magalhães de Azeredo.[5]

Death

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Arinos died of a heart attack in Rio de Janeiro on 15 March 2020, at the age of 89.[1][6] Contemporary reports described him as a diplomat, politician, journalist and member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras, and noted his family connection to the older Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco.[6]

Distinctions and memberships

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Arinos received several Brazilian and foreign honors during his diplomatic and public career. These included the rank of Grand Officer and later Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Condor of the Andes from Bolivia, the Order of Francisco de Miranda from Venezuela, the Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Malta, and the Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau from the Netherlands.[1]

He was also associated with several cultural and professional organizations, including the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro, the Brazilian Bar Association, PEN Clube do Brasil, the Sociedade Brasileira de Direito Internacional, the Academia Nacional de Agricultura and the Academia Brasileira de Letras.[1]

Selected works

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  • Primo Canto: Memórias da mocidade, 1976.[5]
  • Três Faces da Liberdade, 1988.[5]
  • Atrás do Espelho: Cartas de Meus Pais, 1994.[5]
  • Introdução a Brasil Holandês / Dutch Brazil, 1995.[5]
  • Tempestade no Altiplano: Diário de um Embaixador, 1998.[5]
  • Ribeiro Couto e Afonso Arinos / Adeuses, 1999.[5]
  • Afonso Arinos no Congresso: Cem Discursos Parlamentares, organizer and introduction, 1999.[5]
  • Diplomacia Independente: um legado de Afonso Arinos, 2002.[5]
  • Perfis em Alto-relevo, 2002.[5]
  • Mirante, 2006.[5][2]
  • Tramonto, 2013.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco". Academia Brasileira de Letras (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco Filho". Lideranças Políticas NEAMP (in Portuguese). Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  3. ^ "Category:Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco". Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  4. ^ "Afonso Arinos". Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil (in Portuguese). Fundação Getulio Vargas. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco: Bibliografia". Academia Brasileira de Letras (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  6. ^ a b "Morre Afonso Arinos, político, diplomata e jornalista que era membro da ABL". Agência Brasil (in Portuguese). 16 March 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2026.

Further reading

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