The Diplomat
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), replacing Mukhisa Kituyi of Kenya. Grynspan is based in Madrid, where she has been Ibero-American secretary general since 2014.
Guterres made the decision, following ratification by the UN General Assembly of an appointment, which is for a four-year term. It is the first time a woman has been appointed to head the UN’s main agency for trade, investment and development and the fifth Ibero-American to do so.
Rebeca Grynspan was Minister of Housing, Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Affairs and Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. In 2006 she was appointed regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
From 2010 she was UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP.
In 2014 she was elected, with the consensus of the 22 Ibero-American countries, to head the Ibero-American General Secretariat, a post to which she was re-elected in 2018, with the task of supporting the organisation of the Ibero-American Summits.
During her mandate, Grynspan has led the renewal process of the Ibero-American Summits and strengthened the political dialogue between the 22 countries of the Ibero-American Conference in a decade of major political changes in the region.
He also promoted the renewal of Ibero-American cooperation, establishing as central axes the promotion of South-South Cooperation and coherence with the 2030 Agenda, with a special focus on inclusive and sustainable development, women’s economic empowerment, social entrepreneurship and the inclusion of vulnerable groups.
During the pandemic, she called for effective multilateral action, especially on access to vaccines and the need for new financing instruments for developing countries.
The Ibero-American Secretary General was also instrumental in promoting the international projection of Ibero-America, helping to strengthen ties with the European Union and other regions of the developing world.
After her appointment as Secretary-General of UNCTAD was confirmed, Rebeca Grynspan, who thanked the Ibero-American countries for their support during these seven years, said: “I am grateful for the confidence that Secretary-General Guterres has placed in me to lead UNCTAD, an organisation that has a key experience and mandate in issues that are of the utmost importance for development, especially at this time when it can contribute decisively to the recovery of countries after the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”.
“I am grateful to Costa Rica for its support and proud to represent Latin America and the Caribbean in this body, which has already been led by outstanding economists from our region and to which I will bring my experience and commitment to development,” she concluded.
