GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ Y SANCHEZ: Gutiérrez Secretary of Justice 1933 (acceptance speech)

Jurist Politician Diplomat Economist

Professor of International Law, School of Law, University of Havana-1919-1934.

Secretary/treasurer-Cuban Society of International Law, 1920.

Legal Counsel to Secretary of State-1925-29

Delegate- VI American International Conference, 1928

Delegate/Technical Counsel-Conference on Conciliation and Arbitrage, Washington-1928

Secretary General-First Pan-American Conference of Municipalities, 1928

Delegate Plenapotentiary-Conference on Trademarks, Washington, 1929

Director of the International American Office for the Protection of Trademarks and Commerce, 1930.

Liberal Party - President-Havana province, 1930

Delegate-IV Pan-American Commercial Conference, Washington, 1931

Secretary of Justice, 1933

Member-House of Representatives, 1938-1942

Technical Advisor-Commission on Foreign Relations for the Senate, 1937

Technical Advisor-Commission for the Study of the New Constitution, 193?

President of the Foreign Relations Commission for the House of Representatives, 1939

Technical Director -Pan-American Commission for Intermuncipalities Cooperation, Chicago-1939

Delegate- VIII American Scientific Congress, Washington-1940

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1940-1941

Cuban delegation head and Sub-Committee President, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) Atlantic City, 1943, 1944 and 1945.

G.A.T.T. Chairman Legal Drafting Committee and Tech. Dir., Cuban Delegation) Geneva-1947; (Head of Cuban Delegation) Geneva, Petropolis-1950, 1954.

Head of Cuban delegation, (GATT) Havana Charter, 1948.

President-Junta de Economia de Guerra, 1942.

President-Cuban Maritime Commission, 1942-43.

Ambassador to the United Nations (Security Council)1948.

President-Cuban Delegation, General Assembly, 1949

Technical Director/Secretary/President-National Junta of Economy (Junta Nacional de Economia) 1948-1953.

President-United Nations Economic Committee, 1951.

Minister of Finance (Ministro de Hacienda) 1953-1955.

Special Envoy-O.A.S. Conference of the Presidents, Panama, 1956.

President-Cuban Nuclear Energy Commission, 1956.

President-Ministerial Commission for Tariff Reform, 1958.

Minister of Economy (a.k.a. Ministro Presidente-Consejo Nacional de Economia/National Board of Economy, 1955-1959.

November 16, 2008

Gutiérrez Secretary of Justice 1933 (acceptance speech)

Gustavo Gutiérrez became Secretary of Justice on the 26th of June, 1933, a post he would unfortunately hold for roughly 47 days. He resigned 10 days before President Gerardo Machado was overthrown and sent into exile. As a result the Liberal Party was absolved and it's members purged from public office.

It is interesting to note that in Gutiérrez's speech he mentions Del Vecchio, a renowned fascist intellectual of the day, Henri Levy-Ullman, expert on the English Courts system and Benedetto Croce, Italy's most important 20th century Marxist intellectual. He also refers to Cuba's penal code as archaic and expresses his intent to modernize the justice system by, among other things, reducing sentences for certain crimes, re-evaluating the system of pardons, and adds, "...but without ever forgetting that criminal justice is not social vengeance but in the defense of society."

For more information regarding the Liberal Party, the political party Dr. Gutiérrez was a member of please see blog entry "La Ruta Nueva" 1937 which details Gutiérrez's vision for a new path for his political party.

Below is Gutiérrez's acceptance speech.