A Salvadoran citizen and former director of Latin America and Caribbean programs for the National Democratic Institute, he was among those who died when the U.N. headquarters in Port-au-Prince collapsed. 

Democracy advocates are mourning his loss.

“For 10 years, NDI was fortunate to benefit from Gerardo’s expertise, first as a resident director in Haiti, Paraguay and Bosnia, and finally as the Latin America regional director,” said NDI President Ken Wollack. “There is probably no one who better understood democratization opportunities and challenges in the hemisphere or the political dynamics within each country in the Americas, or possessed such a broad range of contacts in the region.”

Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy, recalled “his engaging smile, his sparkling eyes that could light up a room, his sense of humor, and above all his dedication to our work and values.” NDI is one of the NED’s core institutes.

NDI has established a “NDI Haitian Staff and Family Disaster Assistance Fund.”   To make a donation, please follow this link.  

The National Endowment for Democracy supports the American Center for International Labor Solidarity’s efforts to develop strong, representative labor unions in Haiti and the center is asking its supporters to please donate now to assist Haitian workers and their families.

The AFL-CIO’s Union Plus program is donating $100,000 to the Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers Fund through a dollar-for-dollar match.

“We are so appreciative of this incredibly generous gesture,” said Solidarity Center Interim Executive Director Nancy Mills. “This will enable us to provide twice as much aid to Haitian workers.”

Martin Edwin "Mick" Andersen

February 3, 2010 at 10:40 am

One of the things for which Gerardo should be remembered is his moral and physical courage. When he worked for Salvadoran President Jose Napoleon Duarte Gerardo faced down death squad leader Roberto D'Aubuisson during a television debate. Gerardo asked that D'Aubuisson
be given a bar of soap, because the Christian Democrat's mother had always said that if one was a liar, they needed to wash their mouth out with soap.

Gerardo's left a large footprint in many of the countries where he worked. His efforts in Paraguay led his friends to call him the "ambassador" from that country. He was generous and self-effacing, and always had a joke or a good story to share. His vision remains, of a better world on the horizon, one just a bit farther away now that he is gone.