María Fernanda Espinosa, the first woman from Latin America and the Caribbean to serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly (2018–2019), has more than thirty years of multilateral experience. Her career has spanned international negotiations, peace and security, defense, disarmament, human rights, Indigenous peoples, gender equality, sustainable development, the environment, biodiversity, climate change, and multilateral cooperation. In Ecuador, she held senior government positions as Minister of Foreign Affairs (twice), Minister of National Defense, and Coordinating Minister of Natural and Cultural Heritage. In 2008, she became the first woman to serve as Ecuador’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

She currently serves as President of Cities Alliance and Executive Director of GWL Voices. Espinosa is also a member of several international organizations, including the International Crisis Group, the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the UN Advisory Board on Human Security, and the Generation Equality Forum. In addition, she sits on the boards of the Coalition for the UN We Need, Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery, the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, and the Global Commission on Climate Governance.

Espinosa has received numerous awards in recognition of her service. These include the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the United Nations Association of the United States (2022), the Sir Brian Urquhart Award from the United Nations Association of the United Kingdom for distinguished service to the UN (2021), the 5th Sun Award for her contributions to advancing the rights of Indigenous peoples (2021), and the Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements in Innovation for her work promoting the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide (2019). In 2019, she was also named one of the “100 most inspiring and influential women” by the BBC.

Throughout her career, Espinosa has published more than fifty scholarly articles, op-eds, reports, and book chapters on topics including peace and security, geopolitics, multilateralism, trade and investment, sustainable development, human rights, and climate change.