Thirty-sixth session of ECLAC

Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado is a Panamanian diplomat and politician and currently Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama.

She has over 20 years’ experience in consulting, development and implementation of public policies in Latin America. Following her election as Vice-President and her appointment as Foreign Minister, she became the first woman to hold both positions in the history of her country.

Currently, in her capacity as Vice-President, and in accordance with the priorities of the Government of Panama, she chairs the Social Cabinet and supports the National Consultation Council for Development, seeking to organize social policy, in coordination with civil society, around the strategic objective of eradicating poverty and inequality through the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. As Foreign Minister, her vision is to promote a foreign policy whereby Panama is positioned as a country of dialogue, building bridges and taking a lead on the global development agenda.

She was the Alternate Ambassador from Panama to the United Nations in New York and worked for 15 years with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as Country Manager for Panama. In this position, she was part of the team that designed and executed the so-called Panama 2000 accords, within whose framework agreement was reached on Panamanian legislation to create the Panama Canal Authority with the objective of taking over management of the waterway once it reverted to Panama.

She was honoured by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace for her record in building dialogue and consensus throughout her career, and for the role played by the Government of Panama in setting the stage for the meeting between the Presidents of Cuba and the United States in the framework of the seventh Summit of the Americas. The Vice-President is the first person in Latin America to be so recognized.

She has a degree in International Relations from Saint Joseph’s University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University.