S.D. Businessman Moved by Stint as Delegate at United Nations : Diplomacy: Oscar Padilla addresses U.N. General Assembly in speech on worldwide nuclear energy policy.

Before him sat an audience of diplomats from around the globe, if not raptly attentive, at least prepared to give a polite hearing to his report on U.S. views on worldwide nuclear energy policy.

Oscar Padilla, a San Diego insurance agency owner, inhaled deeply and began his address to the 46th session of the United Nations General Assembly as an alternate representative of the U.S. mission headed by Ambassador Thomas Pickering.

At the end of his 15-minute speech, in which he castigated Iraq and North Korea for violating the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Padilla gazed proudly at his wife, Margarete, then at his son and daughter-in-law, who were dutifully videotaping the event.

According to protocol, there was no applause. Even so, it was Padilla’s crowning moment at the United Nations.

“I was inwardly very excited, but I tried not to let it show,” Padilla said Friday. “My speech was followed by a North Korean delegate, who kept giving me angry looks. I was very moved by where I was and the meaning of where I was.”

It was a heady experience for the 67-year-old Mexican-American, whose parents left Guadalajara in the early 1920s and settled in Calexico.

But it was not the first time that Padilla had worked for the United Nations. In 1976, he journeyed to Nairobi, Kenya, as an alternate delegate to the 19th General Conference of UNESCO, the world body’s educational and cultural arm. It was there that he learned of the U.S. policy of selecting five alternate delegates--two members of Congress and three private citizens--to the General Assembly every year. Given his strong interest in world affairs, Padilla decided to seek such an appointment some day.

Active in local politics, Padilla was a delegate to the 1984 Republican National Convention, and an alternate delegate to the 1988 convention. He worked as a fund-raiser for President Bush in 1988, serving as co-chairman of the Bush-Quayle campaign in the San Diego area, and let it be known that he was interested in the U.N. post in New York. That led to an interview with then-White House Personnel Director Chase Untermeyer.

“I explained that I was not interested in a job that required residence in Washington, but wanted something of a temporary nature . . . and would be very interested in an appointment to the General Assembly,” Padilla said.

He made the “short list” of possible appointees in 1990, but had to wait until last July, when the White House called him with the good news. His tour of duty began Sept. 16, and should wind up before the holidays. While in New York, he receives a full delegate’s salary and paid expenses.

While enjoying the theaters and museums of New York, Padilla has been kept on the move at his U.N. office.

“It’s been very hectic,” Padilla said. “I do everything that Ambassador Pickering asks of me.”

Mostly, that entails attending committee meetings, usually as an observer, but sometimes as a participant, carefully articulating the U.S. position. Padilla’s assigned area is economic and social issues--ECOSOC in acronym-loaded United Nations’ parlance.

Although his Oct. 21 speech to the General Assembly was prepared for him by the U.S. mission, some of his activities have required a more unrehearsed brand of diplomacy.

“I lobbied some of our colleagues from the Latin American countries on the issue of boycotting Cuba,” Padilla said.

Using both English and Spanish (which he learned in high school from Anglo teachers) Padilla, accompanied by a foreign service officer, had separate lunches with the deputy ambassador of Mexico, the ambassador of Honduras, and the deputy ambassador of Chile. He also pursued the topic at various U.N. receptions.

“In general, the delegates sympathized with the Cuban resolution because of the suffering of the Cuban people, but the delegates supported delaying the resolution because of their disdain for Castro,” Padilla said.

Cuba, in an annual maneuver, had asked the United Nations to condemn the 1960 U.S. boycott of the island nation, but withdrew the resolution for a another year when it realized that the United States once again had marshaled enough votes to defeat it.

Padilla, who is chairman of the San Diego Stadium Board, is ready to return home to his five grandchildren after the General Assembly’s scheduled Dec. 20 adjournment. His son Peter has been taking care of the family business, which sells insurance to motorists traveling in Mexico, “and doing too good a job of it.”

“I hope I still have a job,” quipped Padilla.

He described his role as an alternate delegate as “very interesting--more fascinating than interesting.”

“I’ve always been a believer in the U.N.,” he said. “My experience proves the need and worth of the U.N. I realize that there are a lot of critics who attack the U.N. as a do-nothing organization. Funny thing is that more nations keep wanting to join. Seven nations came in (while I was here), and no nation asked to leave. So that must answer some of the critics.”

Bornemeier reported from Washington and Meisler reported from the United Nations.