Ambassador to UNESCO, 1996-2001
Jorge Marques Leitão Ritto (Lisbon, 1936) has a degree in Historical and Philosophical Sciences from the University of Lisbon and was an assistant professor at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon in the area of Philosophy.
He joined the diplomatic career in 1961, holding various positions, namely: Consul in Toronto in 1962; legation secretary at the Embassy in Kinshasa in 1964; Consul in Stuttgart in 1969; embassy adviser at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in Geneva (1973-1975); member of the Portuguese delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1975, representing the country in the Special Political Committee; adviser at the Permanent Mission of Portugal at UNESCO (1976-1981), participating in 1977 in the CSCE follow-up meeting in Belgrade.
From July 1979, he was appointed chargé d'affaires of the Permanent Mission, given the appointment of the Ambassador Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo as Prime Minister.
In 1981, Jorge Ritto was appointed Deputy Director-General for Cooperation, and in 1982 he became Deputy Director-General for External Cultural Relations.
In 1986 he was appointed to the Embassy in Rabat, with credentials as ambassador. In 1991 he was appointed to the Embassy in Pretoria, and was promoted to full rank ambassador in 1994. In 1995, he was sworn in as Chairman of the Interministerial Commission on Macau. He was Permanent Representative to UNESCO between 1996 and 2001.
