Her Excellency María Fernanda Espinosa is an Ecuadorian academic, diplomat, and global leader in multilateral affairs. She served as the 73rd President of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the fourth woman and the first from Latin America and the Caribbean to hold this position. She also served twice as Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Minister of National Defense, and as the country’s first female Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Espinosa worked closely with Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon and served as Regional Director for South America at the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

She is President of Cities Alliance and Executive Director of GWL Voices, currently on leave while pursuing her candidacy for United Nations Secretary-General. In May 2026, she was formally nominated by Antigua and Barbuda as a candidate for the position.

Ms. Espinosa also serves on several international advisory bodies including the International Crisis Group and the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Human Security and the High-Level Advisory Council of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, among others.

Her distinctions include the Eleanor Roosevelt Award and recognition among the BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women.