Roberto Álvarez served in the diplomatic corps of the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1970. Between 1970 and 1978, he worked at the Organization of American States (OAS), initially as Deputy Chief of Protocol, later as a lawyer in the legal department, and subsequently in the Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). As a senior specialist, he drafted country reports for the IACHR on Chile (1976), El Salvador (1978), Nicaragua (1978), and Paraguay (1977). He also organized on-site visits by the IACHR to Panama (1977), El Salvador (1978), and Nicaragua (1978).

 

With a fellowship from the Inter-American Foundation, Mr. Álvarez conducted research (1979-1980) on legal aid for indigent and underrepresented groups in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, as well as on the promotion and protection of human rights in the region. While pursuing a master’s degree at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC (1982-1984), he served as an associate for the Central American and Caribbean Program at the university.

 

Mr. Álvarez has worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), coordinating the First Forum on Private Investment in the Americas held in Washington, DC, in 1991; for the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD), between 1987 and 1988; and for the Ford Foundation, on topics related to business development, strengthening judicial systems, the rule of law, and the promotion and protection of human rights from 1978 to 1979. He also served as a delegate in Amnesty International missions in Nicaragua (1980-1981) and Sri Lanka (1981).

 

Mr. Álvarez has been a professor and guest lecturer on human rights, international law, and U.S. foreign policy at various universities and academic centers, including: the Foreign Service School of the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; American University and the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State, both in Washington, DC; the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo; the Central American University (UCA) in Managua, Nicaragua; the Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, New Jersey; Florida International University (FIU), Miami; and the City University of New York (CUNY). As an entrepreneur, he developed several popular and well-known restaurants in Washington, DC.

 

From June 2005 to September 2008, Mr. Álvarez was the Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the OAS with the rank of Ambassador. During his tenure at the OAS, he served as Chair of the Permanent Council from July to September 2005; Chair of the Policy Subcommittee on Partnership for Development of the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI) in 2006-2007; and Chair of the Permanent Council’s Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs in 2007-2008.

 

With the rank of Honorary Ambassador, he was part of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from December 2008 to August 2010, when he resigned. He was a member of the Advisory Committee for the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, from 2012 to 2020.

 

On February 10, 2013, he was elected by the XIX Annual Assembly of Citizen Participation, a nonpartisan civic organization in the Dominican Republic, to its National Council for two years. On February 19, he was appointed by the Council as its General Coordinator for a one-year term. On April 22, 2014, he requested leave from these trusted positions within the organization.

 

He was the coordinator of international affairs for the presidential candidate of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), Luis Abinader, during the presidential campaigns of May 2016 and July 2020. On August 16, 2020, he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Abinader.

 

He is the author of several books, essays, and articles on human rights and international affairs. He frequently writes for Dominican newspapers and magazines such as La Lupa sin Trabas, El Caribe, El Siglo, Listín Diario, Hoy, Rumbo, Clave, and Gaceta Judicial. He has also published occasional opinion pieces in The Washington Post, Miami Herald, and El País (Spain).

 

Mr. Álvarez earned a master’s degree in International Relations (1982) from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and completed all coursework for a doctorate in U.S. foreign policy. He also holds a law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (1968) and a Master’s in Comparative Law from Georgetown University (1976).

 

He is fluent in English and Spanish and has functional knowledge of Portuguese and French. A sports enthusiast, he excels in martial arts and holds a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, having trained with the renowned Grand Master Jhoon Rhee, a tenth-degree black belt known as the father of Tae Kwon Do in the United States.