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María Fernanda Espinosa

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Espinosa and the second or maternal family name is Garcés.
María Fernanda Espinosa
María Fernanda Espinosa in 2018
President of the 73rd UN General Assembly
In office
18 September 2018 – 17 September 2019
Preceded byMiroslav Lajčák
Succeeded byTijjani Muhammad-Bande
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
24 May 2017 – 11 June 2018
PresidentLenín Moreno
Preceded byGuillaume Long
Succeeded byJosé Valencia Amores
In office
15 January 2007 – 7 December 2007
PresidentRafael Correa
Preceded byFrancisco Carrión
Succeeded byMaría Isabel Salvador
Minister of National Defense
In office
28 November 2012 – 23 September 2014
PresidentRafael Correa
Preceded byMiguel Carvajal
Succeeded byFernando Cordero Cueva
Coordinating Minister of Heritage
In office
19 October 2009 – 28 November 2012
PresidentRafael Correa
Preceded byAlex Rivas
Succeeded byMaría Belén Moncayo
Personal details
Born (1964-09-07) 7 September 1964 (age 60)
Salamanca, Spain
Political partyPAIS Alliance
SpouseEduardo Mangas
Alma materFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Rutgers University

María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (born 7 September 1964)[1] is an Ecuadorian politician and diplomat. She was the President of the United Nations General Assembly for the 73rd session from 2018 to 2019.[2] She served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Lenín Moreno from May 2017 to June 2018. She also held several other Ministerial posts before, including as Minister of National Defense of from 28 November 2012 to 23 September 2014.[3] She served as the Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva from 2008 to 2009 and again from October 2014 to May 2017. Besides her political career she is also a poet and essayist.

Personal life

Espinosa was born 7 September 1964 in Salamanca, Spain during a stay of her parent in the city. She is fluent in French and English and has working knowledge of Portuguese. She has interests in poetry and ecology. She studied at Lycée La Condamine in France and graduated in the early 1980s.[4]

Education

She holds a master's degree in Social Science and Amazonic Studies. She also has a postgraduate degree in Anthropology and Political Science from the Facultad Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales in Quito and a licentiate in Applied Linguistics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Between 1994 and 1997, she conducted doctoral studies in Geography at Rutgers University but did not complete her Ph.D. dissertation.

In addition to that, as a poet, she won the "First National Poetry Prize of Ecuador" in 1990.[5]

Political career

Under President Rafael Correa, Espinosa was Minister for Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Integration from January 2007 to December 2007. She was then Special Adviser to the President of the Constituent Assembly, Alberto Acosta from December 2007 to February 2008 before being appointed as Ecuador's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. She presented her credentials as Permanent Representative on March 7, 2008.[1] From October 2009 till November 2012 she was Minister of Natural and Cultural Heritage, where she led the Yasuní-ITT Initiative.[6]

In November 2012 she got the post of Minister of National Defense as incumbent Minister Miguel Carvajal stepped down to run for the National Assembly elections of 2013. She is the third female to lead the Ministry of National Defense after Guadalupe Larriva and Lorena Escudero.[7] In March 2013 some controversy arose after television channel Ecuavisa reported there was unrest in the military concerning the promotion of certain colonels to generals. President Correa ordered Espinosa to take legal action against Ecuavisa, saying that the information Ecuavisa possessed was false. On 18 March 2013 Ecuavisa apologized and confirmed that basic verification procedures had not been followed.[8] She resigned as Minister on 23 September 2014.[9]

María Fernanda Espinosa represented Ecuador in international negotiation processes on sustainable development, intellectual property rights, indigenous peoples, biodiversity, and climate change. Served as lead negotiator for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), and the United Nations Climate Change Conferences of the Parties in Copenhagen (COP 15), Cancun (COP 16), Paris (COP 21), and Bonn (COP 23), where she led the common position of the 34 members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).[10][11]

In October 2014 Espinosa was named Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva. She succeeded Luis Gallegos.[12] In her capacity as Permanent Representative she defended the case of Julian Assange in a discussion on arbitrary detention in September 2016.[13]

On 24 May 2017 Espinosa was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of President Lenín Moreno.[14]

On June 5, 2018, María Fernanda Espinosa was elected as the fourth woman president of the United Nations General Assembly and the first woman from Latin America and the Caribbean to preside over this body, since its foundation in 1945.[15][16][17]

A total of 128 member states, out of the 193 that make up the United Nations, voted for the candidature of Espinosa who ran for the position against the permanent representative of Honduras to the United Nations, Mary Elizabeth Flores.[18]

During her tenure as the 73rd President of the United Nations General Assembly, Espinosa convened a group of women leaders to promote awareness and international commitment to boosting political participation of women. She held several high-level events on women’s empowerment and political participation and gathered woman Heads of State and Government and other leading female figures to advance the gender equality agenda.[19][20] During her presidency she chaired the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants in November 2018, the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in December 2018.[21][22]

Espinosa launched the International Year of Indigenous Languages in February 2019 and spearheaded the high-level event on culture and sustainable development in May 2019.

As president of the United Nations General Assembly, she promoted a worldwide campaign against the use of single-use plastics and achieved the complete elimination of single-use plastics in the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva.[23][24][25][26]

In 2020, Espinosa was nominated by the heads of government of Antigua and Barbuda and Sant Vincent and the Grenadines for the position of secretary-general of the Organization of American States.[27][28] She ran against incumbent Luis Almagro, nominated by Colombia.[29] Almagro won his reappointment with 23 votes against 10 in the election held on 20 March that year. Her home country of Ecuador did not support her candidacy.[30]

Before starting her political and diplomatic career, Espinosa was Associate Professor and Researcher at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences FLACSO, where she established and coordinated the Program on Socio-Environmental Studies. She served as advisor in biodiversity, climate change, and indigenous peoples’ policies (1999-2005), and later as regional director for South America of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature UICN (2005-2007).

Other activities

- International Gender Champions (IGC). Member[31]

- World Future Council, Member[32]

- World Academy of Art and Science, Fellow[33]

- Fellow at the Bosch Academy.[34][35][circular reference]

- Commissioner to the Lancet COVID-19 Commission.[36]

- Member of the High-Level Advisory Council for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, UNAOC.

- Member of the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee of the Generation Equality Forum and the Beijing + 25.[37]

- Member of the Political Advisory Panel of the Universal Health Coverage 2030 Movement, UHC2030.[38]

- Member of the Group of Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion, GWL. Liaison with the United Nations.[39]

- Member of the Strategic Committee of the SDSN Science Panel for the Amazon, SPA.[40]

- Member of the UNDP Human Development Report Advisory Panel on Human Security.[41]

- Founding Member of the Centre for UN Studies at the University of Buckingham.[42]

Espinosa acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Latin American and Caribbean Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples, FILAC, and for the Common Home of Humanity.[43][44][45][46]

Awards and honors

- Awarded with the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Women’s Leadership Celebration.[47] The 7th annual event, hosted by Zions Bank, January 2020.

- The 2019 Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements in innovation “for her Innovative work in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities globally”.[48]

- Declared 100 Women BBC as one of the 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2019.

- The Atahualpa Medal for Merit, Gran Cruz (Grand Cross) class, September 24, 2014, delivered by the Armed Forces of Ecuador.[49][circular reference]

- The Orden “El Sol del Perú” (The Order of the Sun of Peru), Gran Cruz (Grand Cross) class, February 23, 2007.

References

  1. ^ a b "NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ECUADOR PRESENTS CREDENTIALS", United Nations Press Release, BIO/3968, 7 March 2008.
  2. ^ "Ecuadorian politician and poet becomes fourth woman to preside over UN General Assembly". 5 June 2018.
  3. ^ Maria Fernanda Espinosa new Defense Minister Archived 2013-04-13 at archive.today on Ecuador Times, 28 November 2012
  4. ^ (in Spanish) Poesía y ecología, dos pasiones de María Espinosa on El Universo, 7 January 2007
  5. ^ (in Spanish) Hoja de Vida Archived 2014-02-02 at the Wayback Machine on Ministry of National Defense of Ecuador
  6. ^ (in Spanish) Maria Fernanda Espinosa es la nueva Ministra Coordinadora de Patrimonio Archived 2013-04-12 at archive.today on 19 October 2009
  7. ^ (in Spanish) Maria Fernanda Espninosa es la nueva Ministra de Defensa on 28 November 2012
  8. ^ Ecuavisa apologizes to the armed forces for misinformation Archived 2013-04-13 at archive.today on Ecuador Times, 19 March 2013
  9. ^ "María Fernanda Espinosa renunció al Ministerio de Defensa" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  10. ^ Broder, John M. (16 December 2009). "Poor and Emerging States Stall Climate Negotiations". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Day 11 at COP 23: New efforts announced at Bonn Climate Conference to implement climate action". 16 November 2017.
  12. ^ "María Fernanda Espinosa is the new Ambassador of Ecuador before the UN in Geneva". Andes. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  13. ^ "María Fernanda Espinosa aboga por Assange ante la ONU" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  14. ^ "María Fernanda Espinosa fue posesionada como Canciller del Ecuador". Cancilleria.gob.ec. 25 May 2017. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Woman elected as head of UN General Assembly for fourth time in 73 years". UN News.
  16. ^ "Estas son las apuestas de María Fernanda Espinosa, la nueva presidenta de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas". France 24. 6 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Ecuador's foreign minister elected U.N. General Assembly president". Reuters. 5 June 2018 – via www.reuters.com.
  18. ^ Nunez, Vivian. "Meet The First Latina (And Fourth Woman) To Ever Lead The United Nations General Assembly". Forbes.
  19. ^ "Women in Power | General Assembly of the United Nations".
  20. ^ "Informal High-Level Event on Women in Power | General Assembly of the United Nations".
  21. ^ "The Global Compact on Refugees".
  22. ^ "President of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly".
  23. ^ "UN official: The world wants to eliminate single-use plastics". www.efe.com.
  24. ^ "Play It Out | General Assembly of the United Nations". www.un.org.
  25. ^ Thompson, Andrea. "U.N. General Assembly President Sets Her Sights on Plastic Pollution". Scientific American.
  26. ^ Candela, Kacie (27 August 2019). "The UN Headquarters Says Adiós to Single-Use Plastic". PassBlue.
  27. ^ "Understand what the OAS requires, here and now". 14 February 2020.
  28. ^ "Excanciller ecuatoriana: Toca que una mujer lidere la OEA". Associated Press. 16 December 2019.
  29. ^ "Colombia impulsa candidatura de Almagro a reelección en OEA". Associated Press. 26 September 2019.
  30. ^ "OAS - Organization of American States: Democracy for peace, security, and development". August 2009.
  31. ^ Members International Gender Champions (IGC).
  32. ^ Counciller Biographies on World Future Council
  33. ^ Fernanda Espinosa, Maria. "Maria Fernanda Espinosa". worldacademy.
  34. ^ "María Fernanda Espinosa".
  35. ^ Robert Bosch Stiftung
  36. ^ "The Lancet COVID-19 Commission". Lancet Commission on COVID-19.
  37. ^ "Generation Equality Forum". Generation Equality Forum.
  38. ^ "About Us".
  39. ^ "Home - GWL VOICES". 7 July 2021.
  40. ^ "The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) convened to organize its work for 2020". 18 December 2019.
  41. ^ "| Human Development Reports".
  42. ^ "The Centre for United Nations Studies".
  43. ^ "Los Pueblos Indígenas son actores fundamentales para construir sociedades más igualitarias, pacíficas y sostenibles en el escenario Post-COVID". 24 July 2020.
  44. ^ "Fondo para el desarrollo de los pueblos indigenas FILAC". Fondo para el desarrollo de los pueblos indigenas FILAC.
  45. ^ "Common Home of Humanity". Commonhomeofhumanity.
  46. ^ "CHC 2nd ep. Maria Espinosa". 6 October 2020.
  47. ^ "Women Leaders Honored at Sundance Film Festival Event".
  48. ^ "Laureates of the Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements 2019 | RI Global".
  49. ^ https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condecoraciones de Ecuador
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Ecuador Ambassador to United Nations in Geneva
2014–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the United Nations General Assembly
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Francisco Carrión
 Minister of Foreign Affairs
2007–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Alex Rivas
 Coordinating Minister of Heritage
2009–2012 		Succeeded by
María Belén Moncayo
Preceded by
Sandra Vela Dávila
 Minister of Sports
2011–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Miguel Carvajal
 Minister of National Defense
2012–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
José Valencia
Party political offices
Preceded by Second Vice President of the PAIS Alliance
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
Ricardo Zambrano
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