Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Rodolfo Cruz Miramontes, Ph.D. in Law, was a member of the 50th Generation of the Law Faculty in the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), then Escuela Nacional de Jurisprudencia. He completed his doctoral studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid, today Universidad Complutense de Madrid, through a scholarship granted by the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica.

 

He was dean of the Colegio Mayor de Guadalupe, a Spanish university residence, at a time when Spain held no diplomatic relations with Mexico. 

 

His stay in Spain was followed by another in Paris and later in The Hague, where he resumed his training in Europe.

 

In Chihuahua, his professional practice led him to the judiciary, the notary, and the legal profession along with Salvador Creel, Mario García, Manuel Russek, and others. He would also create the firm Creel, García y Cruz.

 

Dr. Cruz was a founder of the journal, Lecturas Jurídicas, and an active participant in the birth of the Law School of the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, whose main auditorium bears his name.

 

In 1971, he was the head of the Legal Department of the Instituto Mexicano de Comercio Exterior, and later, of Aeronaves de México.

 

A former member of the Barra Mexicana, Colegio de Abogados, Dr. Cruz was also affiliated to the Ilustre y Nacional Colegio de Abogados de México, where he coordinated the Foreign Trade and Commercial Arbitration Commission within the institution.

 

He was president of the Cámara Nacional del Cemento, as well as coordinator of the industrial sector in negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement and its subsequent agreements. Dr. Cruz was also a distinguished member of the “Side Room”, the Mexican private sector delegation with served as a consulting body for NAFTA negotiations.

 

His extensive and outstanding bibliographic production specializes in international trade law, public international law, and law education, among other fields.

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Dr. Cruz’s academic and professional career was recognized by the Mexican Navy with the Condecoración al Mérito Especial, and by the Mexican advocacy with the Gran Cruz al Mérito Forense. He also received the Diploma for more than 50 years of professional practice, awarded by the Ilustre y Nacional Colegio de Abogados de México. 

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Dr. Cruz Miramontes passed away in Mexico City, on March 26, 2020.