United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 1 March 2023 the appointment of MarÃa Isabel Salvador of Ecuador as his Special Representative for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).
Ms. Salvador will succeed Helen Meagher La Lime of the United States to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service and steadfast commitment to the work of the United Nations in Haiti.
Ms. Salvador brings to this position over 25 years of experience in managerial, advisory, political and diplomatic functions. She has served as President of the Governing Council of the Galapagos (2013-2015), Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the Organization of American States (2010-2013), Member of the Andean Parliament (2009-2010), as well as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration (2007-2008) and Minister for Tourism (2005-2007) of Ecuador.Â
She also has vast management experience from the private sector having served as General Manager and Legal Representative of Air France in Ecuador (1995-2005). She is currently Director of External Relations at the University of Las Américas in Ecuador, a post she has held since 2015.
Ms. Salvador holds a master’s degree in business administration from Andrés Bello University, Chile, and the European University of Madrid, Spain, and a bachelor’s degree in French language and civilization from the University of Geneva in Switzerland. She is currently completing a law degree in human and nature rights at the University of Las Américas in Ecuador. Â
She is fluent in English and French, in addition to her native Spanish.