During his distinguished career, Mexican diplomat Alfonso García Robles (1911-1991) was a strong advocate of banning nuclear weapons. Educated in international universities as a lawyer, García Robles rose through the ranks of Mexico's diplomatic service to become a well-known and highly respected international spokesperson on nuclear disarmament. He was instrumental in bringing about the Treaty of Tlateloco, an agreement among 22 Latin-American countries that banned nuclear weapons in that part of the world. It was because of this outstanding achievement--and García Robles's tireless efforts toward global nuclear disarmament--that he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982.

Alfonso García Robles was born in Zamora, Mexico, on March 20, 1911. Showing intellectual promise, he studied law at the Independent National University of Mexico. Later he travelled to Europe and earned a postgraduate degree at the Institute of Superior Studies at the University of Paris. Garcí...