Alicia Bárcena, Ibarra

She was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from June 2023 to September 2024. Previously, she served as Mexico’s ambassador to Chile.

She held the position of Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) from 2008 to 2022. Prior to that, she held the positions of Deputy Executive Secretary and Director of the Environment and Human Settlements Division at ECLAC.

At the United Nations (UN), she was the Assistant Secretary-General for Management of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; and the Chief of Cabinet to then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. She also served as coordinator of the Sustainable Development Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and as coordinator of the Environmental Citizenship Project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In 1982, she was the first Undersecretary of Ecology of Mexico, at the then Secretariat for Urban Development and Ecology. Also served as the Director-General of the National Fisheries Institute in 1988.

She studied biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) where she also obtained a master’s degree. In addition, she holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. She has written more than 50 publications for various journals and international media.