Jose Maria Argueta
Jose Maria Argueta has served as Guatemala’s ambassador to Peru and Japan. Previous to this he served as the National Security Advisor to President Ramiro de Leon Carpio, where he authored and implemented the “Crisis Committee,” an entity designed to institutionalize the presidential decision-making process. In the late 1980s and early 1990s he coauthored and implemented the ESTNA Methodology, a conflict resolution method that was instrumental in the peace processes of Guatemala and El Salvador. While serving as ambassador to Japan, he authored the Central America-Japan Initiative, which was conducive to the August 2005 “Tokyo Declaration.” While Ambassador to Peru, he was taken hostage by the Tupac Amaru, at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador. He played a central role in negotiating with the guerrillas the release of many of the hostages. He has served as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank, Harvard University’s Center for Conflict Resolution, and the National Endowment of Democracy.
