Josefina de la Caridad Vidal Ferreiro (born 18 February 1961) is a Cuban diplomat, and has been the Deputy

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

of Cuba. Previously she was director general of the North American Division in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

since 2013.

Career

Vidal graduated from the

Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (, also known as MGIMO University) is an higher education, institute of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. The institute is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian ...

in 1984 with a degree of Bachelor of International Relations. Vidal has previously held several United States-related posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1999 to 2003 she was First Secretary in the

Cuban Interests Section Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Ameri ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and from 1991 to 1997 she was an analyst at the Cuban Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. Before entering diplomatic work she had been an Assistant Researcher in the Center of Studies of the United States at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

. On 23 July 2017

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

reported that Vidal was to be transferred to the post of Cuban Ambassador to Canada, but this was not reflected in official Cuban sources. In August 2017 it was reported that Vidal had travelled to Moscow in late July for talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

Sergei Ryabkov Sergei Alexeyevich Ryabkov (; born 8 July 1960) is a Russian diplomat, currently serving as the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation since 2008. Early life and education Ryabkov was born in Leningrad in 1960. At age 22, in 1982, he ...

and the Cuban Ambassador in Moscow Emilio Lozada Garcia. In 2021, she became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Personal life

She is fluent in English, French, and Russian

References

1961 births Living people Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Cuban women ambassadors {{Cuba-diplomat-stub