Guy Pérez-Cisneros Bonnel

One of the principal figures in art criticism in the first half of the twentieth century in Cuba.

Doctor in Philosophy and Letters and Diplomatic Law. Graduate in journalism. He held important administrative and diplomatic positions in the Cuban Ministry of State starting in 1934.

Representative of Cuba on the Economic and Social Council of the U.N. Member of the National College of Journalists of Cuba. Delegate of Cuba to the III General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 proposing at this assembly the approval of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" a document that had been developed with great Cuban participation since 1945.

He was born in Paris, France on June 7, 1915. Several elements helped form the cosmopolitan vision that would come to define his career. His father, Francisco Pérez-Cisneros, was a painter and Consul of Cuba in the French capital. His mother, Paule Bonnel, was from Toulouse, France.

He began his studies at Colegio Santo Ángel de Gijón in Asturias, Spain and later, between 1921 and 1933, he completed his primary and secondary education at Liceo Longchamps de Bordeaux, France, graduating with his bachelor's degree. He then entered the University of Havana, where he graduated as a Doctor in Philosophy and Letters and Diplomatic Law. His doctoral thesis, Characteristics of the Evolution of Painting in Cuba, was published in 1959.

In 1937 he married Berta Barreto y Fatijó, and they had three children, Guy, Francisco, and Pablo. They divorced and in 1943, he married again with Vera Wilson Estrada.

Dr. Pérez-Cisneros also distinguished himself in the field of plastic arts, publishing several works on the study of art. Among these works stand out Presence of Eight Painters (1937), Modern Cuban Painting (1941), Víctor Manuel and Contemporary Cuban Painting (1941), and Painting and Sculpture (1943), among other works. In 1944 he graduated from the School of Journalism "Manuel Márquez Sterling"

Since his entry into the Ministry of State in 1934, Dr. Pérez-Cisneros held several administrative and diplomatic positions.

In 1935 he was appointed an officer of the Foreign Service of the Republic of Cuba.
In 1937 he was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Cuban National Commission for Intellectual Cooperation.
In 1939 he was appointed Acting Head of the Office of the League of Nations of the Ministry of State, Secretary General of the National Institute of Plastic Arts, and Deputy Secretary General of the Inter-American Caribbean Union.
After the end of World War II, Cuba, like other allied countries, joined efforts to solve postwar problems. From this new mission emerged the Organization of United Nations (U.N.).

Between 1945 and 1946, Dr. Pérez-Cisneros was Secretary General of the Delegation of Cuba to the Conference for the creation of the Organization of United Nations. Simultaneously he was a member of the National College of Journalists of Cuba, Commercial Attaché of Cuba in Canada, and Representative of Cuba on the Economic and Social Council of the U.N.

In 1947 he was Rapporteur of the Special Commission on Information of Non-Autonomous Territories of the II General Assembly of the United Nations.

In 1949 he was appointed Member of the Cuban Commission of U.N.E.S.C.O., Delegate of Cuba to the IV Assembly of the U.N., and Elected Secretary General of the American Commission of Dependent Territories.

In 1950 he was appointed Head of Cabinet of the Ministry of State of the Republic of Cuba and in 1950 and 1951 he represented Cuba as Permanent Delegate to the V and VI Assemblies of the U.N.

Between 1952 and 1953 he was Delegate of Cuba to the Economic and Social Council of the U.N. at the VII and VIII Assemblies.
Principal Decorations Received

For his international work, he received numerous decorations from different governments.

Haiti: He received the orders of Merit (1940) and of Pétion et Bolívar (1941) with the rank of Knight.

Lebanon: He received the Ordre National du Cèdre (1947)

Mexico: He received the Águila Azteca with the rank of Insignia (1949).

Cuba: In turn, the Cuban government granted him the rank of Officer (1948) and Commander (1951) of the National Order of Merit Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.

Dr. Pérez-Cisneros died suddenly in Havana on September 2, 1953. When he died he was only 38 years old. Without a doubt, he would have continued representing the Republic of Cuba before the world with dignity and honor if his destiny had been different.

During his public life, Dr. Pérez-Cisneros represented the cultural values of the Cuban people and upheld the name of Cuba in international organizations. Today, when we see the violations of human rights that occur in Cuba and around the world, we must remember the humanist spirit of Dr. Guy Pérez-Cisneros to prevent these crimes from being committed in the future.