The Governing Council of Casa de América met today to appoint Mr. León de la Torre as the new Managing Director of the institution. The appointment was made at the proposal of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, after consulting and obtaining the consensus of the Community and the City Council of Madrid, members of the Casa de América consortium.
Mr. De la Torre, who this year celebrates 30 years as a diplomat after entering the diplomatic service in 1994 as number one in his class, has accumulated extensive experience in various positions in Latin America, which he has combined with others in the EU (both in Madrid and Belgium), Asia and Africa. He has also been part of the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Constitutional Court since 2005 (as an advisor) and, from 2006 to 2011, he has held the position of head of cabinet.
His diplomatic experience in Latin America dates back to 1996, when he held the position of counselor in charge of consular affairs at the Embassy of Spain in Ecuador, until 1999; from 2001 to 2005 he was at the Embassy of Spain in Chile as cultural counselor; he was ambassador of Spain in Nicaragua from 2011 to 2015; and EU delegate in Bolivia (2016-2020), and in Chile from 2020 until his incorporation to Casa America.
The new Managing Director of Casa de América holds a degree in Law and Business Management E-1 from the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Madrid. He speaks Spanish, English, French and German. And he has written a book, Yo, William Walker (2014), which includes a foreword by Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramírez.