Secretary-General Appoints Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé of Spain United Nations Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé of Spain as the United Nations Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia.

Mr.  Moratinos will continue to assume his present role as the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.  Taking on this dual role aims to optimize existing capacity and resources and integrate the functions arising from the new mandate into an existing position.  Since 2019, Mr.  Moratinos has been leading the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, re-enforcing its role as a bridge-builder and a prominent global platform for dialogue.

Mr. Moratinos has worked closely with the United Nations during his diplomatic career on the Middle East, Africa and Europe, notably as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain (2004-2010), during which his country held the presidency of the United Nations Security Council and chairmanships of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe and the Council of the European Union.  Also, as Minister, Mr. Moratinos was a strong advocate of effective multilateralism, the Alliance of Civilizations and the Group of Friends for the Reform of the UN and contributed to the creation of innovative programmes for development, healthcare and women within the UN system, doubling his country’s official development assistance (ODA).

Following his period in the cabinet, Mr. Moratinos later undertook parliamentary activity (2010-2011) focusing on international action towards the struggle against hunger and poverty, the promotion of food security and the right to food.  As a member of the team of the Global Dry Land Alliance in Qatar, in 2012, he promoted the International Food Security Treaty and the International Treaty for a Global Dry Land Alliance.

Earlier in his diplomatic career, Mr. Moratinos served as Deputy Director General for Northern Africa (1987-1991), Director of the Institute of Cooperation with the Arab World (1991-1993) and General Director of Foreign Policy for Africa and the Middle East (1993-1996).

After serving as Spain’s Ambassador in Israel (1996), he was appointed by the European Union as Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process (1996-2003).  In this role, Mr. Moratinos promoted peace agreements and carried out actions, on behalf of the European Union, to foster the Arab-Israeli dialogue. 

Mr.  Moratinos graduated in law and political sciences at the University Complutense in Madrid and then in diplomatic studies at the Spanish Diplomatic School.  Mr. Moratinos is fluent in Spanish, English and French.

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* This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1841 of 20 November 2018.