Roberto Azurdia

Roberto René Azurdia Paiz
Born	1926 Guatemala
Education	Escuela Médico Militar
Profession	Physician, Surgeon, Writer, Ambassador

Roberto René Azurdia Paiz is a Guatemalan writer, diplomat and physician. Born in Guatemala in 1926.

Career

Dr. Azurdia obtained^{[citation needed]} his medical degree (MD) in Mexico City and returned to Guatemala to serve in that country’s army as a surgeon. In the early 1960s Dr. Azurdia was appointed^{[citation needed]} to the newly-founded Guatemalan navy as the port doctor for the Caribbean ports of Santo Tomás de Castilla and also provided^{[citation needed]} medical attention to the population of nearby Puerto Barrios. During his time as a doctor in those locations he helped eradicate malaria. The population in those areas suffered^{[citation needed]} from plasmodium vivax and falciparum, which was caused by mosquitoes breeding in the multitude of swamps surrounding the tropical towns. He was responsible^{[citation needed]} for obtaining a water processing plant as a gift from the World Health Organization and had it delivered and installed^{[citation needed]} in the port, providing clean potable water for a population of thousands.

Dr.Azurdia was appointed minister of public health^[1] by the president of Guatemala democratically-elected general and engineer Miguel Idigoras Fuentes in 1961 and served in that function until his nomination as ambassador to Italy in 1963 during the presidencies of Enrique Peralta Azurdia and Julio César Méndez.^[2]

Ambassador in Italy

While acting as Ambassador to Italy,^[2] he served as representative from Guatemala to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.^[3] Dr. Azurdia was co-founder of the Instituto Italo Latinoamericano (IILA) in Rome and governor of the Centro de Accion Latina, also in Rome, Italy.^{[citation needed]}

While acting as ambassador to Italy, Dr.Azurdia was awarded by the Vatican the Order of St. Sylvester, one of the five orders of knighthood awarded directly by the pope.^{[citation needed]}

Ambassador in Pananma

After five years in Italy Dr.Azurdia was nominated ambassador to Panama and represented Guatemala in that country from January 1969 through July 1971 with the government of Omar Torrijos.^{[citation needed]}

Retirement

After serving in the army of Guatemala where he ultimately attained the rank of lieutenant colonel,^{[citation needed]} Dr. Azurdia retired from the military in 1972 and moved to Mexico City, where he practiced medicine as a surgeon for twenty years.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Dr.Roberto Azurdia married Lilia Morales Treviño in Mexico City while completing his education. They live in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Dr. and Mrs. Azurdia had five children and ten grandchildren

Retirement

Following his retirement from medicine, Dr. Azurdia developed a successful^{[citation needed]} marble import/export business in Mexico City. He retired from business in 1995 and moved to the United States.

Dr. Azurdia has published numerous^{[citation needed]} newspaper and magazine articles and is the author of the novel El Médico de Matías, in Spanish.

References

1. ^ "Reunión del INCAP, entra en su fase más importante". La Nacion: p. 36. December 7, 1962. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zPYcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2HoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1069,10052480&dq=roberto-azurdia. Retrieved 25 January 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/007/55321E/55321E09.htm
3. ^ Food and Agriculture Organization. "List of delegates and observers attentind the forty-eighth session of the council". United Nations. http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/007/68977e/68977E10.htm. Retrieved January 25, 2010. 

Persondata
Name	Azurdia, Roberto
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1926
Place of birth	Guatemala
Date of death
Place of death