Secretary-General Appoints Ana Maria Menéndez of Spain Senior Adviser on Policy

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Ana Maria Menéndez of Spain as the next Senior Adviser on Policy.  She will succeed Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organization.

Ms. Menéndez brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in diplomatic service involving bilateral, regional and global issues.  She has participated in negotiations on the major United Nations development conferences and has been involved in the United Nations disarmament agenda, the Security Council agenda, and in various reform processes within the United Nations system.  Additionally, she has worked in the humanitarian and human rights fields.

She is currently Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, prior to which she was Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at Spain’s Embassy in Tunisia (2009-2012).

Ms. Menéndez began her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985, and has served in various capacities, including Deputy Director General for United Nations Technical Organizations at the Foreign Ministry in Madrid (2008-2009); Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission in Ireland (2006-2007); Special Adviser on Latin American and Trans-Atlantic relations to the Secretary of State for the European Union (2005-2006); Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations in New York (2002-2004); and Counsellor at the same Permanent Mission (1998-2002).

She holds a law degree from Complutense University, Madrid, and has one son.