HIstoryof the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation
HISTORY OF THE ALEXANDRE DE GUSMÃO FOUNDATION (FUNAG)
Creation of FUNAG
On September 21, 1971, then Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Gibson Barboza submitted to President of the Republic Emílio Garrastazu Médici a message Exposição de motivos nº G/76/550, in which he proposed, as a priority project for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the creation of the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation, whose basic objectives would be: a) to hold and promote cultural and pedagogical activities in the field of international relations; b) to conduct and promote studies and research on problems pertaining to international relations; c) to disseminate Brazilian foreign policy in its general aspects; and d) to contribute to the formation, in Brazil, of a public opinion sensitive to the problems of international coexistence. The message contained the bill of law that would authorize the creation of the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation.
On October 5, 1971, President Médici submitted Message no. 388, with the aforementioned Exposé of Reasons and the bill of law that “authorizes the creation of the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation.”
Bill of Law no. 393/1971 unanimous favorable opinions by the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Finances Committee, and the Constitution and Justice Committee and the Drafting Committee of the House of Representatives, being sent to the Federal Senate on October 15, 1971. The Bill was approved with no changes by the Federal Senate on October 21, 1971.
Law no. 5,717, sanctioned by the President of the Republic on October 26, 1971, authorized the creation of the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation, with the following basic purposes:
I - to organize and promote cultural and educational activities in the area of international relations;
II - to conduct and promote studies and research on issues pertaining to international relations;
III - to increase awareness of Brazilian foreign policy in its general aspects;
IV - to contribute to the formation in Brazil of a public opinion sensitive to the problems of international coexistence; and
V - to develop other activities compatible with its purposes and statutes.
Based on the authorization given by the aforementioned Law, Decree no. 69,553, of November 18, 1971, instituted the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation, originally as a private legal entity, under supervision of the Ministry of State for Foreign Affairs. FUNAG would feature a Higher Council, a Board of Directors, and a President, whose duties and composition would be defined in its first statute, approved by Decree no. 70,670, of June 5, 1972.
The first President of FUNAG, Ambassador Wladimir do Amaral Murtinho, was appointed in 1981 (his term of office extended to 1984). Still in 1981, the President of FUNAG undertook efforts aimed at obtaining resources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through grant-in-aid, as well as private donations and agreements with public institutions.
In May 1982, Ambassador João Clemente Baena Soares was elected the first President of the Board of Directors, having remained in the position until 1984, when he was replaced by Ambassador Carlos Calero Rodrigues. In its first meeting, in May 1982, FUNAG’s Board of Directors approved the first budget, the staff list, and the Foundation’s program of activities.
View the list of FUNAG’s presidents from 1981 to the present.
First target activities
In 1982, as well as several research projects in partnership with other institutions, FUNAG held its first two seminars: one regarding diplomatic research and the other on the propagation of the Portuguese language throughout the world.
In 1984, FUNAG held its first exhibits: “Oliveira Lima”; “Duarte da Ponte Ribeiro, diplomata do Império” [Duarte da Ponte Ribeiro, diplomat of the Empire]; and “Maurício Nabuco”.
FUNAG’s first publications of academic nature were launched throughout 1984: the three first volumes of the collection organized by Professor Antônio Cançado Trindade, Repertório da prática brasileira do Direito Internacional Público [A repertoire of the Brazilian practice of Public International Law].
The 1980s also saw the publication of works such as Guimarães Rosa: Diplomata [Guimarães Rosa: Diplomat], the first theses selected from the High Studies Course (CAE) of the Rio Branco Institute. Since then, FUNAG has published over 146 CAE theses.
Creation of the International Relations Research Institute (IPRI)
FUNAG’s second statute, approved by Decree no. 91,654, of September 16, 1985, created the International Relations Research Institute (IPRI) as one of FUNAG’s first bodies, with the responsibility to promote: a) studies and research on topics related to international relations; b) the collection and systematization of documents related to its field of activity; c) courses, conferences, seminars and symposiums in the area of international relations; d) scientific exchange with national and foreign counterparts; and to divulge studies and research within its field of activity.
IPRI began its activities in April 1987, when its first Director, Ambassador Gelson Fonseca Júnior, took office. The Institute’s first publications were the Cadernos do IPRI [IPRI Journals], which created a space for reflection between diplomats and academics in the understanding of international politics and Brazil’s projection in the contemporary world.
From 2001 onwards, the Clássicos do IPRI [IPRI Classics] Collection, a collaboration that initially encompassed the University of Brasília Publishing House and the Official Press of the State of São Paulo, enabled the dissemination of classic works for the study of International Relations.
Since 2015, IPRI’s main publication has been the periodical Cadernos de Política Exterior [Foreign Policy Journals].
For more information on IPRI, access http://www.funag.gov.br/ipri.
View the list of IPRI’s directors from 1987 to the present.
Change in FUNAG’s structure and legal nature
As per Decree no. 91,017, of February 27, 1985, FUNAG was attributed the character of federal public service.
With Decree no. 94,973, of September 25, 1987, FUNAG’s Higher Council and Board of Directors are replaced by a Curating Council, made up of fifteen “permanent” members (most of whom held management positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and elected temporary members. The Curating Council was made up of a Chamber of International Relations and a Chamber of Technical Cooperation, the latter for the oversight of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), created by that same Decree in the scope of FUNAG (see the following section).
With Decree no. 896, of August 16, 1993, FUNAG became a public foundation, linked to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Instead of the Curating Council, FUNAG’s governing body became the Higher Administration Council, presided by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and made up of the Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs and the then undersecretaries-general.
View the list of the members of FUNAG’s Higher Administration Council.
Creation of ABC
As mentioned in the previous section, Decree no. 94,973, of September 25, 1987, created the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), with the purpose of conducting technical cooperation programs in all areas of knowledge between Brazil and other countries and international bodies, according to the Brazilian foreign policy. ABC was created within FUNAG’s structure, with technical, administrative, and financial autonomy. Regarding ABC’s background, see http://www.abc.gov.br/SobreABC/Historico.
The creation of ABC significantly broadened the duties and structure of FUNAG, which, at one point, had a staff of 200.
In 1996, FUNAG became a unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself, a change reflected by Decree no. 2,071, of November 13, 1996, which approved FUNAG’s new statute. The Foundation again concentrated its activities within the purposes established by Lay no. 5,717/1971. FUNAG’s functional structure was also reduced significantly.
Creation of CBRB, precursor to the Center of Diplomatic History and Documentation (CHDD)
Since 1982, FUNAG has conducted a series of joint projects with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other institutions, through agreements, related to the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic history documentation, with the conduction of research.
Decree no. 896, of August 16, 1993, approved FUNAG’s new statute, which created the Baron of Rio Branco Center of Diplomatic History and Documentation (CBRB), in Rio de Janeiro, with the following duties: a) to promote and disseminate studies and research on the diplomatic history and standing principles of the Brazilian foreign policy; b) to preserve and disseminate the traditions and accomplishments of Brazilian diplomacy; c) to promote the maintenance and proper conservation of the architectural entirety of the Rio de Janeiro Itamaraty Palace and the collections belonging to the Historic and Diplomatic Museum, the Library, the Map Collection, and the Historic Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; d) to care for public access to the historic and documentary patrimony of the Rio de Janeiro Itamaraty Palace; e) and promote the collection and systematization of documents, as well as the conduction of courses, conferences, seminars, congresses, and other activities of cultural and academic nature in the field of diplomatic history.
CBRB only began its activities in April of 2000, when its first Director, Ambassador Álvaro da Costa Franco Filho, took office. The following year, as per Decree no. 3,963, of October 10, 2001, CBRB was replaced by the Center of Diplomatic History and Documentation (CHDD), with similar duties, its main activity being to reclaim the diplomatic heritage, based on recovering and transcribing documents from the Historic Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Cadernos do CHDD [CHDD Journals] have been published semiannually since 2002.
For more information on CHDD, access http://www.funag.gov.br/chdd/.
View the list of CHDD directors from 2000 to the present.
FUNAG’s activities
FUNAG has conducted, throughout its history, hundreds of seminars, conferences, courses, exhibitions, among other events. Throughout most of its history, FUNAG’s events were held exclusively in person, with rare live broadcasts to a broader public. In the last few years, FUNAG’s events have been broadcast live, so as to increase society’s access to them. In 2019, audio-visual products gained a higher professional quality, which contributed to an exponential increase in views.
At the end of 2019, the Foundation also began to disseminate its events and publications through podcasts in several platforms. The podcast format also began to be used for interviews on topics related to international relations and the Brazilian foreign policy.
FUNAG has a digital library featuring over eight hundred publications available free of charge in three digital formats. In addition to the periodicals published by IPRI (Foreign Policy Journals) and CHDD (CHDD Journals) and the aforementioned collections of theses from the Rio Branco Institute’s High Studies Course, the library includes the following collections: Bicentenário: Brasil 200 anos – 1822-2022 [Bicentennial: Brazil 200 years – 1822-2022]; Relações Internacionais [International Relations]; História Diplomática [Diplomatic History]; Memória Diplomática [Diplomatic Heritage]; Direito Internacional [International Law]; Em Poucas Palavras [In a Few Words]; Coleção Eventos [Events Collection]; and Livro na Rua [Books in the Street]. Many books published by FUNAG do not belong to any collection;
The advertisement of FUNAG’s books was done for many years through in-person participation in fairs and biennials. This advertisement is currently carried out basically through social media, as an effort to reduce expenditure by the use of digital means.
The several expenditure reduction measures, especially from 2019 onwards, did not prevent FUNAG from exceeding its targets and significantly increasing the number of hits on its webpage and downloads for its publications.
Detailed information on FUNAG’s activities since 2005 can be obtained from the annual reports. The “News” section of FUNAG’s website also contains information on the Foundation’s activities since December 2013.