Eduardo González
Spanish diplomat Alberto Cerezo, who had served as Spain’s Ambassador on Special Mission to the Sahel since January 2025, has been appointed EU Ambassador to Mali by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas.
According to the Official State Gazette (BOE), the Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday, at the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, the dismissal of Alberto Cerezo as Ambassador on Special Mission to the Sahel, a post to which he was appointed in January 2025, replacing Antonio González-Zavala, who had just been appointed as Special Envoy to Syria.
Furthermore, the European External Action Service reported on January 27 that Kaja Kallas had confirmed the appointment of Alberto Cerezo, among others, as EU Ambassador to Mali.
Born in Madrid in 1967, Alberto Cerezo holds a law degree from San Pablo CEU University and a degree in political science from Complutense University. A career diplomat since June 2001, he has served at the Spanish Embassies in Cameroon (2003-2006) and Mozambique (2009-2012), where he held the position of Deputy Head of Mission, as well as in Paraguay (2006-2009), as Chargé d’Affaires, and in China, as Counselor (2017).
In 2014, he became the first Spanish diplomat accredited to the Burmese authorities, serving as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, based in Yangon, Myanmar, where he oversaw the opening of Spain’s first diplomatic office in the country. As Chargé d’Affaires a.i., he also served at the Embassy of Mozambique between September and November 2019.
He has also been Head of Service in the Sub-Directorate General for North Africa (2002) and Advisor in the Department of International Affairs of the Prime Minister’s Office, responsible for North African affairs (2012-2014), and Deputy Director General for Bilateral Relations with Sub-Saharan African Countries (2017-2020).
Between 2020 and 2023, Alberto Cerezo was Ambassador of Spain to the Republic of Mozambique, concurrently accredited to Eswatini, and between 2024 and 2025 he was Ambassador on Special Mission for Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law.