Adolfo Costa du Rels facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adolfo Costa du Rels
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| Ambassador of Bolivia to France | |
| In office 12 July 1949 – 14 October 1954 |
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| President | Mamerto Urriolagoitía Hugo Ballivián Víctor Paz Estenssoro |
| Preceded by | Jorge Ortiz Linares |
| Succeeded by | Adrián Barrenechea Torrés |
| Ambassador of Bolivia to Argentina | |
| In office 1943–1947 |
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| President | Gualberto Villarroel Néstor Guillén Tomás Monje |
| Preceded by | Tomás Manuel Elío |
| Succeeded by | Gabriel Gosálvez |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship |
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| In office 1 March 1948 – 9 August 1948 |
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| President | Enrique Hertzog |
| Preceded by | Tomás Manuel Elío |
| Succeeded by | Javier Paz Campero |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 June 1891 Sucre, Bolivia |
| Died | 26 May 1980 (aged 88) La Paz, Bolivia |
Adolfo Costa du Rels (born June 19, 1891 – died May 26, 1980) was an important writer and diplomat from Bolivia. He is known for being the last President of the Council of the League of Nations, which was an organization that tried to keep peace in the world before the United Nations was created. He wrote many plays, novels, and other works, mostly in French, and won several awards for his writing.
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Early Life and Education
Adolfo Costa du Rels was born in Sucre, Bolivia, in 1891. His father was an engineer from France, and his mother was Bolivian. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Corsica, an island in France.
He went to school in Ajaccio, Corsica, and later studied at the University of Aix-en-Provence. He also studied literature and law at the famous University of Paris-Sorbonne in Paris. Even though he spoke Spanish as his first language, he was educated in French. He later wrote about how difficult it was to write in two languages.
In 1912, Costa du Rels returned to Bolivia. At that time, oil had been found in the eastern part of Bolivia. He became involved in exploring for oil and even owned large areas of land where he hoped to find it. These experiences later inspired his novel Tierra hechizadas (which means Bewitched Lands).
A Career in Diplomacy
Adolfo Costa du Rels began working as a diplomat in 1917. A diplomat is someone who represents their country in other nations. He worked at the Bolivian embassy in France and later in Chile.
He was also elected as a deputy (a type of representative) in the Bolivian government for a while. He then became a special advisor at the Bolivian embassy in France. In 1928, he represented Bolivia at a big meeting in Havana, Cuba, called the Pan-American Conference. There, he helped create rules for protecting artistic works and copyrights.
Working with the League of Nations
Costa du Rels became Bolivia's representative to the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The League of Nations was an international organization formed after World War I to promote peace and prevent future wars. In 1930, he became the vice-president of the League's 11th Assembly. He also joined a special committee for arts and letters in 1931.
The Chaco War
In July 1932, a conflict started between Bolivia and Paraguay over a territory called the Gran Chaco. This conflict became known as the Chaco War. The League of Nations tried to help solve the problem.
Costa du Rels, representing Bolivia, and another diplomat from Paraguay, tried to find a solution. In 1933, Costa du Rels explained to the League that Bolivia had bombed a port used by Paraguay because it was important for their military. He argued that the land had belonged to Bolivia for a long time, but Paraguay had been slowly taking it over. He asked for an independent group to decide the borders.
The war lasted for two years and many lives were lost. When a ceasefire was agreed upon in 1935, Paraguay controlled most of the disputed land. In 1938, Paraguay was given three-quarters of the Chaco Boreal region. Interestingly, the war was fought because people thought there was a lot of oil and gas in the area. It turned out that the oil was actually in the part of the land that Bolivia kept!
During World War II
From 1937 to 1943, Costa du Rels served as Bolivia's special representative to Switzerland and the Vatican. World War II began in 1939. In 1940, he became the President of the Council of the League of Nations. He was the last person to hold this position because the League was dissolved after the war. It was replaced by the United Nations, which still works for global peace today.
After the War
In 1946, Costa du Rels attended a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. They discussed what to do with the League of Nations' property.
In 1948, he became Bolivia's Minister of Foreign Affairs. He tried to get the United States to pay more for Bolivian tin, which was in high demand. Between 1948 and 1952, he was Bolivia's Ambassador to France. Later, in 1973, he served as Bolivia's Ambassador to UNESCO, an organization that promotes education, science, and culture. Adolfo Costa du Rels lived in Paris for much of his life and passed away in La Paz, Bolivia, in 1980.
Literary Works and Awards
Adolfo Costa du Rels was a talented writer who wrote in both French and Spanish. He wrote poems, plays, novels, short stories, and essays.
His play Les étendards du roi (which means The King's Standards) was performed in Paris in 1956 and in La Paz in 1968. This play won the Gulbenkian Prize in 1972, an award for the best playwrights in Latin countries. Other well-known plays he wrote include Les Forces du Silence (1944) and El signo del fuego (1957).
His essay Los cruzados de alta mar (meaning Deep Sea Crossings) won the Prix Rivarol in Paris in 1954. This essay described his departure from Paris in May 1940.
Some of his stories, like La Misk'isimi, explored themes about Bolivia's native people. This story was part of a French collection called La hantise de l'or (The Spell of Gold). This story and another one, Plata del diablo (The Devil's Silver), which is about searching for silver in the Andes mountains, were later combined with his 1973 novel Los Andes no creen en Dios (The Andes Do Not Believe in God). This novel was later made into a film in 2007.
Costa du Rels received many honors for his work. These included the National Prize for Literature in 1976 and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Condor of the Andes, which is a very high award in Bolivia. He was also made an officer of the French Legion of Honour. He was a member of important history and literature academies in Argentina and Bolivia. Even though he wrote a lot in French, many people considered him a truly Bolivian writer because his most famous works were about Bolivian topics.
See also
In Spanish: Adolfo Costa Du Rels para niños
