The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers yesterday appointed the former Minister of Culture and Sports, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, to the post of permanent delegate ambassador of Spain to UNESCO.
Born in Valencia in 1968, with a degree in Law from the University of Valencia and a PhD in Law from the Carlos III University of Madrid, Rodríguez Uribes was, in addition to minister in the first government of Pedro Sánchez, delegate of the Government in the Community of Madrid, deputy and deputy spokesman in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Madrid and director of the Bartolomé de las Casas University Institute of Human Rights. The former minister replaces Juan Andrés Perelló, who held the position since August 2018 also in the capacity of “political” ambassador.
On the other hand, Eva del Hoyo will be the new director general of Sustainable Development Policies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she has developed the bulk of her administrative career. In recent years she has been deputy director of Planning and Policy Coherence in the Directorate General of Sustainable Development Policies of the Secretariat of State for International Cooperation and currently serves as secretary of the Council for Cooperation and Interterritorial and Interministerial Commissions. She also worked for more than five years in the private sector in the United Kingdom, as a consultant for international programs.
The Government also appointed Pedro José Sanz Serrano as Ambassador-at-Large for the Strategy for Central America. Born in Madrid in 1962 and a member of the Diplomatic Career since 1989, he has been ambassador to Kazakhstan, with multiple accreditation in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and ambassador to Haiti, and has been posted in various diplomatic functions at the Spanish Embassies in Honduras, Colombia, Hungary, Germany, China and Argentina. In central services, he has worked in the Directorate General of Consular Affairs, where he was head of the Foreigners Service and deputy director general of Consular Protection and Assistance, and has been an advisory member of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development.
Teresa Orjales will be the new Ambassador-at-Large for European Summits and Bilateral Forums. Born in A Coruña in 1964 and a member of the Diplomatic Career since 1991, she has been an advisor in the General Sub-Directorate of International Organizations, advisor member in the Cabinet of successive Foreign Ministers, deputy director of the Diplomatic Information Office (OID) and director of the Cabinet of the President of Congress in the X Legislature. She has been posted to the Spanish Embassies in Helsinki and Ankara and to the Permanent Representation of Spain to NATO. In 2017 she was appointed ambassador of Spain to Estonia.
The Government appointed Javier Hernández Peña as Ambassador-at-Large for Cross-Border Cooperation. Born in 1962 and belonging to the Diplomatic Career since 1988, between June 2017 and August 2021 he was ambassador of Spain to Paraguay. He previously held diplomatic posts in the Spanish Embassies in Tehran, Stockholm, Canberra and Nicosia. In addition, he was counselor at the Secretariat of State for European Affairs, counselor at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU, deputy director at the Deputy Directorate General for EU Institutional Affairs of the Secretariat of State for the European Union and deputy director general for Development Policies at the General Secretariat for International Cooperation for Development.
Finally, María Jesús Conde will be the first Ambassador-at-Large for Feminist Foreign Policy. Born in Bilbao in 1958, she has been an advisory member in the cabinet of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs and the Secretary of State for International Cooperation. She was also consultant and representative of UNICEF in Bulgaria, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, regional protection advisor at the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Panama, and head of migration and development at the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP). She has also been director of Human Rights of the Basque Government and legal advisor to the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.
