IN PERU we often speak of Fernando Carbajal as "the Peruvian Paul Harris." And Rotarians of Lima refer to him as "our Ches Perry."

There is really a good reason for each of these titles. It was Fernando who brought Rotary to the West coast of South America, for in 1921 he organized the Rotary Club of Lima. It was Fernando who self ‑sacrificingly served 14 years as Secretary of that Club, until he bowed to popular demand and accepted the Presidency.

Most of you know what followed for Fernando‑his District Governorship, his First Vice‑Presidency of Rotary International, his service on many Committees, and now our international Presidency.

Pioneering in Rotary came naturally to Fernando Carbajal, for he has always been a pioneer. It is in his blood. His family came to Lima when the pioneers came. One of his forebears was Manuel Ascensio Segura, who was a pioneer in poetry and in drama, and who left a deep imprint on Peruvian literature. Furthermore, don Manuel was also a pioneer in the political arena, being an early member of the Cortes, or Congress, and in the newspaper field, for he was the founder of El Comercio, oldest and largest of Peru's daily papers.

Fernando started his pioneering early. He was only 20 years old when he was graduated from the Peruvian School of Engineering and Mining, and he plunged at once into tropical jungle exploration. Along Peru's Eastern borders, down the slopes of the great Andes that are the backbone of the country, flow great rivers that unite to make the Amazon. In 1900, when Fernando finished college, these were terra incognita to most Peruvians. Into this unknown land he led a party which mapped the courses of the Inambari, the Madre de Dios, and the Aguaytia Rivers.

In 1905 the United States was building the Panama Canal, and important pioneering was being done in the field of sanitation and health control. Fernando Carbajal went to the Canal Zone, and for two years worked there, filling several positions, mainly in the field of municipal sanitation. Following this, the Peruvian Government, in 1907, sent him to the United ‑States and Cuba to study the newest improvements in sanitation in those countries.

On his return to Peru he was given control of sanitation works in the Chanchamayo Valley. Somehow or other he found time to visit Lima, and in 1908 he married Senorita Carmela Balbuena, a member of another old family of that capital. In 1909 he returned to Lima as State engineer of Peru in charge of public works.

Peru has a long coastline and many harbors. The docks of these ports are under the care of the department of public works, and it was with their construction, maintenance, and repair that Fernando was charged for 11 years. However, during one of those years, from 1912 to 1913, his early explorations made him the logical choice as head of the commission that settled the Peruvian‑Bolivian border claims along the very rivers he had explored.

During this period occurred an incident which had a deep influence on his career. Two railroad companies had rival claims, and, as State engineer, it was Fernando's task to decide the issue. One of the companies was closely linked with the Government, the other was not. Yet the decision was made in favor of the company with no governmental connection.

Fernando forgot the incident. He simply did his duty as he saw it. But years later, when the telephone company was looking for a general manager, one of the directors who had been a director of the railroad company, remembered. He did not know Fernando personally, but he did know honesty and ability, and Fernando was selected for the post. He is now vice‑president as well as general manager of the telephone enterprise, and it has been his work since 1920.

Although the telephone company is his main task, he has also found time to serve as a director of the Industrial Bank of Lima and as vice‑president of the Crandall Engineering Company of Boston, Massachusetts.

Rotarians who were at the international Convention at Mexico City in 1935 will remember Fernando's family, for Senora de Carbajal and all five of their children were with him. There are one son, Fernando, Jr., and four daughters‑Carmela, Berta, Luisa, and GracieIa. The three eldest are married, and Fernando has three grandchildren to enjoy.

We who have been his fellow members in the Rotary Club of Lima were not entirely surprised when we learned of his unanimous selection by the Nominating Committee of Rotary International. Hadn't we elected him President of our Club the same way? Don't we know his worth? We did not learn of his selection from him, however, but from Julio Gerlein Comelin, Director of Rotary International, who stopped to visit us between planes on his way to Chile. It was Fernando's birthday, and we were all guests of Past District Governor Andres F. Dasso and his charming wife when Julio told us of the action of the Committee.

Fernando tried to assure us that our congratulations were premature, that there were others who might be nominated. But after April 1, when Tom J , Davis, President of Rotary International, declared him to be the "President Nominee," he could no longer deny us the pleasure of congratulating him.

I have known and cherished the friendship of Fernando Carbajal a long time, and I do not feel that I am breaking, but rather that I am sharing, a confidence when I repeat what he told me when the news became known.

"I hesitated a long time, despite the urgency of the moment, to answer the Nominating Committee," he said. "I appreciate the honor, and I know the difficulties that surround the post today. But it was put to me as an opportunity to serve!"

"An opportunity to serve" is a call to action for our President. When he was Governor of our District in 1935‑36, he learned that by taking an arduous and somewhat dangerous flight over the Andes, he could visit the outlying Rotary Club of Iquitos, which had never been visited. Of course he went!

We in Lima know of Fernando's long and varied experience in commercial and professional life, and in Rotary. We feel honored in his choice for the Presidency of Rotary International, and know that he will do honor to the position. We feel that all Rotary in Peru, which counts him as its most shining example, shares the opportunity of service with him.

Those of us who know him well‑and there are many Rotarians all over the world who can say that‑know what force of mind and of character, what stores of placid energy, and what an unusual reserve of executive ability he brings to his new position.

Therefore, we say to you, in all sincerity and complete confidence, that this year, once more, Rotary International has placed its Presidency in the hands of a man who can do the job and has put the right man in the right place!

From an article in the July 1942 issue of The Rotarian by Jorge M. Zegarro, PDG, Lima, Peru

Prepared by Wolfgang Ziegler 7 September 2003