London, 6 April 2016— The Executive Director presents his compliments and wishes to convey the sad news that Mr. Alexandre Fontana Beltrão, Executive Director of the ICO from 1 April 1968 to 30 September 1994, passed away on 4 April 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
Mr Beltrão was the longest serving Executive Director of the ICO. He was born on 28 April 1924 in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, and educated at the Instituto Santa Maria, the University of São Paulo; and the Escola Nacional de Engenharia, Rio de Janeiro. His first position in 1948 was as assistant engineer in the Department of Soil Mechanics at the Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas, São Paulo. He trained at the Institut National d'Aérophotogramétrie, Ministère de la Reconstruction, Paris, and the Ministry of Works in London in 1950-51. He was the founder and director of SPL Planning Services Ltd.; observer of the Government of the State of Paraná to the UN International Coffee Conference, special adviser to the President of the Brazilian Coffee Institute, 1964; and Chief of the Brazilian Coffee Institute bureau in New York. Mr Beltrão, whose published works include “Paraná and the Coffee Economy”, 1963 (essay), and “Economy of the States of Paraná, Pará and Ceará”, 1958, was a Commander of the Order of Rio Branco.
Always an avid supporter of coffee consumption promotion initiatives, he contributed to launching the Coffee Development Group in the USA during the 1980s, and advised the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) in its early years. He held the position of CEO of the Paraná Institute of Technology (Tecpar) between 1995 and 1998, modernizing the institute and helping to transform it into an important center for science and technology.
Mr Beltrão is considered one of the ICO’s most influential and innovative Executive Directors, having led the Organization through times of great change. Below is the text from his farewell statement made on 30 September 1994 at the third plenary meeting of the 65th Session of the International Coffee Council. The speech presents a brief history of Mr Beltrão’s work at the Organization and an interesting perspective on the international coffee politics of the time.
