NDI mourns the death of Luis Maria Duarte, a member of the Institute’s Afghanistan election observation mission, who was among those killed on Thursday during a terrorist attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul.

Luis, of Asunción, Paraguay, was one of NDI’s long-term observers for the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections. He had assisted the Institute on several earlier election missions, including in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Pakistan and Peru. He had also observed elections with the Organization of American States in Ecuador and Bolivia.

Luis was a respected academic, political advisor and diplomat who was admired for his professionalism and beloved by friends and colleagues alike. He was warm and caring with a wonderful sense of humor. This was his third mission to Afghanistan. He was deeply committed to the hopes and aspirations of the Afghan people.

Luis was program coordinator for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Paraguay. He was also a professor at the National University of Asuncion and the Diplomatic Academy of the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry. Previously, he was advisor to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paraguayan Senate and diplomatic advisor to the vice president of the Republic of Paraguay. He also served as bureau chief for Asia and Oceania and bureau chief for bilateral treaties with Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania with the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

NDI’s thoughts and prayers are with Luis’ family.

Published March 21, 2014