The 54th Special General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) today re-elected Luis Almagro as Secretary General and Nestor Mendez as Assistant Secretary General of the Organization.

Secretary General Almagro, from Uruguay, was re-elected with 23 of the 33 votes cast by member states. Candidate María Fernanda Espinosa, from Ecuador, obtained 10 votes and one country was absent. Following his re-election, Secretary General Almagro expressed his thanks to those that supported his candidacy and vowed “I will continue to dedicate all efforts to ensure more rights for more people in all the 34 member states.”

Assistant Secretary General Nestor Mendez, from Belize, was re-elected by acclamation. He said, "I pledge my commitment to ensuring that this Organization is optimally positioned to assist each of its member states in addressing the global pandemic and other crises plaguing our world at this time."

Both Secretary General Almagro and Assistant Secretary General Mendez will fulfill their second mandate for five years starting May 26, 2020. Neither of them will be eligible for re-election once they complete their second term.

The Assembly was held at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C.