Diego Abente-Brun

Dr. Diego Abente-Brun was "deputy director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. He has previously served as professor of sociology and politics at the Catholic University of Paraguay and senior research fellow at the Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya (CADEP), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to the research and study of economic and social issues in Paraguay. In addition to his distinguished record as a scholar and published author, Dr. Abente-Brun has served as a senator (1993–2003), as Paraguay’s ambassador to the Organization of American States (1999–2002), as senior cabinet advisor to the Minister of Finance (2003–2005), and as Minister of Justice and Labor (2002). During his Reagan-Fascell fellowship, Dr. Abente-Brun explored the variables that may help or hinder the development of quality democratic systems in South America, with a particular focus on the experiences of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay."