Simon International, LLC

 Hugh V. Simon, Jr.

President

             Dr. Simon was Florida Undersecretary of State for International Affairs for three years, until January 2003, developing Florida’s international relationships with particular emphasis on the FTAA and free trade.  He was instrumental in creating Florida FTAA, Inc., the organization designed to bring the secretariat of the FTAA to Miami, and appears in print and broadcast media dealing with trade and other international issues.

                 Hugh Simon is an experienced career diplomat, entering the US Foreign Service in 1970, and serving in diplomatic assignments in the US and abroad for nearly three decades.  In Europe, he was at the US Embassy in Athens during the time of crucial US base negotiations, at the Embassy in The Hague as part of the team arguing the Iran hostages case before the International Court of Justice and in Bonn as the first cracks in the Berlin wall began to spread.

                 His Latin American and Caribbean postings have included Suriname, when it was still a Dutch colony, Nicaragua when independent political forces were struggling against the Sandinistas, Quito during a period of relative stability and growth under President Rodrigo Borja and Buenos Aires as President Carlos Menem introduced currency stability and brought his country into alignment with the United States.  Dr. Simon’s last overseas post was as Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana as he focused on economic development and improved relations with the US. 

                 Washington assignments have included Cuban Affairs, Berlin Affairs, and Human Rights Affairs, the last as he worked to broaden foreign and US public support for a policy that aligned human rights with core US foreign policy interests.  Dr. Simon also served as Deputy Director of Central American Affairs while the US adjusted its policies to suit the post Cold War environment and encouraged export development in the region.

                 Hugh Simon was a Lieutenant Commander in the US Coast Guard Reserve from 1967-1970, including a tour in Vietnam.  From 1998-1999, he was the Political Advisor to the Commander of the US Southern Command in Miami, participating in strategic meetings in all Latin American and most Caribbean states.

                 Carrying out his undergraduate and master’s studies at the American University in Washington, DC, Dr. Simon received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires.  His dissertation on civil-military relations was published in Argentina.  Hugh Simon is recognized as an expert on political military affairs, as a Latin Americanist and as an effective proponent of international trade. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Society of the Cincinnati, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Miami-Dade County's Beacon Council and other Florida trade and investment organizations. His foreign languages are Spanish, German, Dutch and some French.

418 CANDIA AVENUE, CORAL GABLES, FL 33134

TEL: 305-467-3405; FAX: 305-428-2629

EMAIL: INFO@SIMONINTERNATIONAL.COM