page_title: Union of South American Nations
section_title: Secretary General
hierarchical_section_title: Union of South American Nations / Structure / Secretary General
caption_attribution_description: Español: Quito, Ecuador, 17 nov (ANDES).- Pavel Muñoz (d.) titular de SEMPLADES, se reunió con Ernesto Samper Secretario General de la UNASUR, en la que abordaron temas relacionados con la planificación como un instrumento fundamental en la construcción de los procesos de integración regional. Foto: Micaela Ayala V./Andes
context_page_description: The Union of South American Nations is an intergovernmental regional organization that once comprised twelve South American countries; as of 2019, most have withdrawn.
  The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty was signed on 23 May 2008, at the Third Summit of Heads of State, held in Brasília, Brazil. According to the Constitutive Treaty, the Union's headquarters will be located in Quito, Ecuador. On 1 December 2010, Uruguay became the ninth state to ratify the UNASUR treaty, thus giving the union full legality. As the Constitutive Treaty entered into force on 11 March 2011, UNASUR became a legal entity during a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador, where they had laid the foundation stone for the Secretariat Headquarters.
  In April 2018, six countries—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru—suspended their membership, and in August of the same year, Colombia announced its withdrawal from the organization. In March 2019, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro announced his country's intention to withdraw from the organization. On March 13, 2019, Ecuador announced that it will withdraw from the organization.
context_section_description: A Secretary General is the legal representative of the Secretariat in Quito, Ecuador. Former Ecuadorian president Rodrigo Borja was nominated to this position but resigned a few days before the formation of the USAN in May 2008. On 4 May, Néstor Kirchner of Argentina was appointed as the first Secretary General, despite resistance from Colombia, Uruguay, and Peru. After the death of Néstor Kirchner in 2010, there was a period of time when the position went unfilled, which eventually ended when María Emma Mejía Vélez was elected in March 2011. After Ernesto Samper completed his term in January 2017, UNASUR members have been unable to come to consensus on a successor.
caption: Ernesto Samper, the most recent Secretary General.
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