Carmen Maria Gallardo Hernandez

Carmen Maria Gallardo Hernandez (Vice-Chairperson of the UN Peace Building Commission; Ambassador and Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the UN)

"Carmen Maria Gallardo Hernandez is the current Ambassador and Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations. She also serves as Vice-Chairperson of the UN's newly created Peacebuilding Commission. Ambassador Gallardo Hernández served previously as the Coordinator for International Cooperation for El Salvador's Supreme Court and between 1995 and 1996 she served as the Executive Director of the Salvadoran Foundation for Peace (FUNDAPAZ), an NGO formed after the country's peace accords brought to an end the 12-year civil war in 1992. Previously Ambassador Gallardo Hernández served as Salvadoran Ambassador to France and Portugal (and as El Salvador's permanent delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. She has received numerous accolades over the years including being named professional of the year by the El Salvador Bar Association in 1997 and a “Doctor Honoris Causa” in international relations from El Salvador’s Technological University in 1998. The Ambassador has a Masters degree in Parliamentary Interpretation from the University of Geneva and a Bachelors degree in Clinical Psychology from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City."

• Core Member, International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy