Raul Abraham Taleb
PEOPLE PROFILE is published every Tuesday and describes the professional background of key people emerging in the political and economic scenario.
Who is Raul Abraham Taleb?
Raul Abraham Taleb is the new ambassador to Cuba. From this week, Argentina
will once more have a top diplomatic representative on the island. Former President
Fernando de la Rúa recalled the previous ambassador to Cuba in 2001 when
President Fidel Castro described him as a ‘Yankee bootlicker’.
Why watch him?
Under the presidency of Néstor Kirchner, Argentina is looking to
reshape its relationship with the US and the principal countries in the region
by means of an independent foreign policy contrary to that of the administration
of former President Carlos Menem, who sought ‘carnal relations with the
US’. In order to achieve this, he needs to be prepared to strike up relations
which might antagonise Washington. Cuba is a case in point. Kirchner is eyeing
a rapprochement with Cuba for two reasons: to reaffirm his image as an independent
centre-leftist president and to recover a more than US$1.5bn outstanding Cuban
debt to Argentina.
Age: He is 54.
Place of birth: Ciudad de Diamante, Entre Rios province, Argentina.
Education:
He has a degree in political science and international relations from the Universidad
Católica de Córdoba.
Public life:
Belonged to the Peronist youth movement, along with Argentina’s current
foreign minister Rafael Bielsa, in the politically divisive 1970s. He is a key
politician in Entre Rios, where Kirchner’s close friend, former governor
Jorge Busti represents Kirchner.
Timeline
- 1973-76 Works in the foreign ministry during the third government of Juan Domingo Perón and his wife Isabel Perón.
- 1991 Begins his stint as provincial deputy for Entre Rios, a province to the north of Buenos Aires.
- 1991-99 Presides over the committee of Asuntos Constitucionales de la Cámara Provincial and sits on the education, transport and telecommunications, general legislation and natural resources and environment committees.
- 2003 Jorge Busti proposes him as a candidate for ambassadorial rank in Cuba
- 2003 In October, he is selected as ambassador to Cuba and accompanies foreign minister Rafael Bielsa to the island, the first foreign minister to travel there in 14 years.
Strong points
He is an ambassador with a political, not a diplomatic, profile. He is charged
with re-establishing relations with Cuba after years of froideur under former
presidents Carlos Menem and de la Rúa. Abraham Taleb will have to strike
a balance between overplaying the relationship with Cuba and appearing as a
diplomatic dissident on the island. As representative of former governor Busti,
he enjoys much political support given the close relations between Busti and
President Kirchner.
Weak points
He has no diplomatic experience and has been criticised by the political opposition
in Entre Rios and various professional diplomats for his ‘total ignorance’
of international relations.
Prospects
Despite this criticism, Abraham Taleb knows his foreign affairs and knows that
he is going to Cuba to fulfil a political role. Kirchner has flirted with Cuba
since the day he came to power and is keen to use improved relations with Cuba
as evidence of a more independent foreign policy that shows his readiness to
disagree with the US in order to pursue his own bilateral relations on his own
terms.