Hugo Llorens Presents Credentials as New U.S. Ambassador to Honduras

September 19, 2008

Hugo Llorens, the new Ambassador of the United States of America to Honduras, presented his credentials to President Manuel Zelaya Rosales on September 19, 2008. (Casa Presidencial de Honduras Photo)

TEGUCIGALPA – Hugo Llorens, the new Ambassador of the United States of America to Honduras, presented his credentials to President Manuel Zelaya Rosales on September 19, 2008.  Ambassador Llorens arrived to Honduras on September 12, after he was confirmed as Ambassador-designate in April.  Mr. Llorens’ most recent assignment was as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain.

He is a career Foreign Service Officer who joined the Department of State in 1981.  He served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he served for three years from August 2003 until July 2006.  From 2002 to 2003, Mr. Llorens served in Washington, D.C. as the Director of Andean Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC).  At the NSC he was the principal advisor to the President and National Security Advisor on issues pertaining to Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador.  Prior to the NSC, Mr. Llorens served for three years as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver, Canada.  In Canada, he managed some of the most contentious trade issues, including softwood lumber.  In Vancouver, he created a novel multi-agency “Law Enforcement Hub” that included the opening of FBI, ATF, U.S. Customs, Secret Service, and State Department Regional Security offices at the Consulate to work with Canadian counterparts on counterterrorism and international crime investigations.

Before being assigned to Vancouver, Mr. Llorens served as Deputy Director of the Office of Economic Policy and Summit Coordination in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.  In that capacity Mr. Llorens played an important role in the launch of the historic Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations in 1998.

As a member of the U.S. Foreign Service for 25 years, he has had an extensive diplomatic career serving in such varied capacities as Economic Counselor in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Economic Officer in La Paz, Bolivia; Commercial Attaché in Asunción, Paraguay; Narcotics Coordinator in San Salvador, El Salvador; and Consular Officer in Manila, Philippines.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Llorens worked as an Assistant Treasurer at the Chase Manhattan Bank’s International Division in New York.  Mr. Llorens received his Master of Science in National Security Studies from the National War College in 1997; a Master of Arts in Economics, from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England in 1980; and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1977.

He has earned three Superior and six Meritorious Awards.  He is a past recipient of the prestigious Cobb Award for excellence in the promotion of U.S. business and trade policy, was runner-up for the Saltzman Award for distinguished performance in advancing U.S. international economic interests, and was runner-up for the James Baker Award for the best Deputy Chief of Mission.  He speaks Spanish, Tagalog, and some French.

Mr. Llorens is married to Lisett, and has two sons, Dirk and Andrew.