Celso Lafer

Celso Lafer is professor emeritus of the University of São Paulo (USP) and was a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and General Theory of Law at the same university. Dr Lafer was a member of the Deliberative Council (2005-2011) of the Institute of International Relations of the USP. 

He was Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs on two occasions: in 1992, under Fernando Collor, and from 2001 to 2002, during the last two years of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration. From 1995 to 1998, Dr Lafer served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Brazil to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nation (UN) and the other specialized agencies in Geneva. 

In the WTO, he was Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body and Chairman of the General Council.  As 2002, Dr Lafer is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague) and is the Chairman of the Board of the Museu Lasar Segall (São Paulo). Currently, he serves as a Member of the Board of Klabin – a major paper and pulp company in Brazil; and as a member of the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of São Paulo (IEA). Dr Lafer has been awarded doctor honoris causa of many universities in Argentina, France, Israel, United Kingdom; and Honorary Fellow of the Hebrew University.  In 2001, he was awarded the Moinho Santista prize of the Bunge Foundation for his contribution to the studies of International Relations.  In 2006, he was the Countries and Cultures Chair at the John W. Kluge Center in the US Library of Congress. He was elected member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in 2004 and of the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 2006. 

His most recent publications are related to the Brazilian international identity and external policies, and to human rights (constitution, racism, international relations, international law).