Patricia Espinosa
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Patricia Espinosa Cantellano (born October 21, 1958) is a Mexican diplomat who served as the executive secretary of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...
from 2016 to 2022. She was
Secretary of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
in the cabinet of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 ...
; and served as Mexican Ambassador to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. Because of her outstanding career as a Mexican diplomat, she was appointed Ambassador Emeritus of Mexico in 2012.


Early life and education

Patricia Espinosa Cantellano graduated with a bachelor's degree in International Relations from
El Colegio de México El Colegio de México, A.C. (commonly known as Colmex, English: The College of Mexico) is a Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in social sciences and humanities. The college was founded in 1940 by the Mex ...
and earned a diploma in International Law at the
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, or the Geneva Graduate Institute (french: Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement), abbreviated IHEID, is a government-accredited postgraduate institution ...
in Switzerland. She is married and has two children.


Diplomatic career

Espinosa Cantellano joined the Foreign Service on September 16, 1981. Ambassador Cantellano has served as responsible for economic affairs, Permanent Mission of Mexico to UN, Geneva (1982-88); Head, Cabinet to Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs (1989-91); Director of International Organizations (1991-93); assigned to Permanent Mission of Mexico to UN, New York (1993-97); President of the Third Committee, UN General Assembly (1996-97); and General Director of Regional Organizations of the Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Coordinator for Rio Group, Iberoamerican Summit, Summit of Americas and Summit of Latin America and Caribbean with European Union (1997-99). She was promoted to Ambassador within the Foreign Service in 2000 and served at the Mexican Embassy in Germany from January 2001 to June 2002; leaving the post to serve as Ambassador to Austria, concurrently with a number of international organizations based in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, from 2002 to 2006. On November 28, 2006,
President-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Unit ...
Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 ...
announced that she would serve as his Secretary of Foreign Affairs starting on December 1, 2006. As Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Government, she: * Organized the first-ever G-20 Summit in an emergency country (2012); * Conducted the 16th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16) to successfully adopt the "Cancun Agreements", reinstating credibility and trust in multilateral process after the failed conference in Copenhagen (2009); * Improved and strengthened the bilateral relationship with the United States through close dialogue and cooperation mechanisms on al relevant issues; * Coordinated the international outreach related to the H1N1 pandemic, which initiated in Mexico; and * Piloted negotiations resulting in the creation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Stated -a milestone in the history of the region-, and in the establishment of the Pacific Alliance (an integration mechanism composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru). Because of her outstanding career as a Mexican diplomat, she was appointed Ambassador Emeritus of Mexico in 2012. From 2012 to 2016, she was again Ambassador of Mexico to Germany. Post where she drove efforts to strengthen the bilateral relationship, particularly to promote Mexico's economic opportunities, which led to an increase in German investment and bilateral trade growth. In May 2016, Espinosa was selected by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to be the Executive Secretary of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...
(UNFCCC). Under her leadership, she led the transformation of the organization towards supporting the full implementation of the Paris Agreement globally.


Awards and decorations

* Ambassador Emeritus of Mexico - highest honor given to five outstanding Mexican diplomats. * Awarded German Sustainability Prize in 2012 * Awarded the Sustainability Prize in 2019 by the Saxon Hans-Carl von Carlowitz Society. * Decorated by the governments of Germany, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, Guatemala, Netherlands, Paraguay and Peru.


Other contributions

* Member of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the 2030 Agenda. * Commissioner at the Global Commission of Adaptation * High-Level Consultative Group for the InsuResilience Global Partnership * Founder of the Berlin-Bonn chapter of the International Gender Champions * Member of the Advisory Board of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice * Member of the OECD High-Level Advisory Group * Member of The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy Board *
International Gender Champions International Gender Champions (IGC) is a network of female and male leaders of member states, international organizations, and civil society working for gender equality. It is an initiative of Women@TheTable, and was founded in 2015 by Caitlin Kr ...
(IGC), MemberMembers
International Gender Champions International Gender Champions (IGC) is a network of female and male leaders of member states, international organizations, and civil society working for gender equality. It is an initiative of Women@TheTable, and was founded in 2015 by Caitlin Kr ...
(IGC).


References


External links


Secretariat of Foreign Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinosa, Patricia Living people 1958 births Ambassadors of Mexico to Austria Ambassadors of Mexico to Germany Ambassadors of Mexico to Slovenia El Colegio de México alumni Female foreign ministers Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Mexican Secretaries of Foreign Affairs Mexican expatriates in Switzerland Women Secretaries of State of Mexico Recipients of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Mexican women ambassadors 21st-century Mexican politicians 21st-century Mexican women politicians