Juan Rial, president of RESDAL International, dies at 80 years of age

Juan Rial, president and founder of RESDAL International, passed away on Sunday, July 14th at the age of 80 in Montevideo. Rial had been at the helm of the organization since 2001 and from there led in 2017 the creation of GPSP (Global Partnership for Security and Peace) a global community of practice comprising experts and civil society organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The entire RESDAL team deeply regrets his passing and expresses its condolences to his family, friends and colleagues, especially to his daughter Elisa and his wife Carina Perelli. It also expresses its gratitude and recognition for his active commitment in defense of peace, security and democracy.

Juan Rial (September 18, 1943 - July 14, 2024)
Born in Montevideo, a political scientist, Rial was a historian, consultant and researcher on democracy, security and defense issues in Uruguay, the region and the world. An expert in democratic transition processes, his contributions are today an inescapable international reference. Consultant to several international organizations, he is the author of more than 300 articles on political analysis and more than a dozen books.

Juan Rial's academic career began in Uruguay. He studied at the Law School of the Universidad de la República between 1969 and 1973 and then joined the Instituto de Profesores Artigas where he graduated in 1974 as a professor of history. In 1977, he joined the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios del Uruguay (CIESU), an institution founded as a refuge for academia in the context of dictatorship.

In 1985, he won a Fellowship as a researcher at the Kellogg Institute and settled in the United States for an academic residency at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana). Upon his return to the country in 1987, he joined the research team of the Political Science Institute of the School of Law and Social Sciences as a grade 5 researcher, co-directed with Oscar Botinelli the founding team that gave rise to Factum in 1989 and consolidated his position as a senior researcher at PEITHO Sociedad de Análisis Político (Political Analysis Society).

During this period he generated an intense academic production on democratic transition in Latin America and the Caribbean and, in addition, he served for more than a decade as co-coordinator of Civil-Military Relations in a project of the American University in alliance with PEITHO.

In 1996, he settled in New York and from there he developed a prolific career as an international consultant. He worked in more than 80 countries, mainly for international and multinational organizations such as the United Nations Development Program, the OAS, the Center for Electoral Assistance and Promotion (CAPEL) of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, Idea International and the IDB, among others.

He culminated his career as an international consultant in 2018 with a vast trajectory in issues such as mediation, peacemaking, elections, political parties, armed forces and police in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe. His rich career also included field work in peace operations in Lebanon, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo and Bosnia.