Luis J. Lauredo

A native of Cuba, Mr. Lauredo was nominated by President Clinton as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States, a diplomatic organization that is the Americas' premier political forum for multilateral dialog and decision-making.

Since the start of the decade, Mr. Lauredo has argued that Miami is the gateway to Latin America. Mr. Lauredo came to Miami in 1962 with his mother, brother and two sisters. He then won an academic scholarship to Columbia University, where he received his Bachelors degree.

His long career in public service in Florida began by volunteering for the Miami mayoral campaign of Maurice Ferre, for whom he ultimately became an administrative assistant. Later, Mr. Lauredo was elected to office himself, as a councilman for the Village of Key Biscayne. He also became the first Hispanic member of the Florida Public Service Commission ("PSC"). While on the PSC, Lauredo pressed utilities to hire more Hispanics and demanded that their material be distributed to customers in Spanish as well as English. He often irritated utility officials and some PSC staff members by insisting they translate utility jargon into more understandable explanations. Lauredo resigned his position on the PSC to serve as Executive Director of the 1994 Summit of the Americas. He then later became President of Greenberg Traurig Consulting.

Ambassador Lauredo has represented President Clinton as Special U.S. Ambassador to the inaugurations of the Presidents of Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. He has also been honored as one of the nation's top "100 Influential Hispanics" by Hispanic Business magazine.

An arts aficionado, he has also headed several cultural groups, including the Greater Miami Film Festival and the Dade County Council of Arts and Sciences.