Ambassador Rafael Azules Gonzales, 91

01 July 2019 - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announces with deep sorrow the demise of Ambassador Rafael Azules Gonzales on 28 June 2019 at the age of 91.

Ambassador Gonzales rose from the ranks, entering the DFA as a Clerk in 1947. He became a Foreign Service Officer in 1960, and served in various postings in New York, London, Hongkong, Peking (now Beijing), and Berlin, before retiring as Philippine Ambassador to Poland in September 1992.

In 2007, he wrote his autobiography entitled “Autobiography of Ambassador Rafael A. Gonzales : diplomat, artist and Judo master”, where he wrote about his diplomatic career and his love for judo, in which he was an 8th dan judoka. He also dabbled in the arts, wherein he participated in a Saturday Group Gallery exhibit in Ali Mall in 2004 through a collage entitled “In Memoriam”, a tribute to his then late wife, Ambassador Felicitas Benzon-Gonzales.

Born on 5 September 1927 in Albay, he had a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Arts. He is survived by five children and six grandchildren. END