Pope Francis on December 6, 2018, received Ms. María del Carmen de la Peña Corcuera, ambassador of Spain to the Holy See, on the occasion of the presentation of her credential letters.
The following is a brief biography of the new ambassador:
Ms. María del Carmen de la Peña Corcuera was born on November 2, 1952, in Madrid, and is married with two daughters.
She has a degree in Law.
She entered the diplomatic service on June 1, 1979, holding the following positions: embassy secretary in Beijing (1979-1980); director-head of the Section for Nuclear Energy and New Energy Sources in the Directorate General for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1980-1982); director of Foreign Diplomatic and Consular Personnel and International Organisms, in Protocol Services, Chancellery and Orders at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1980-1982), cultural attaché at the embassy in Brasilia (1983-1987); UN Technical Counsellor for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (1987-1991); head of the Foreign Policy Area for North Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1991); sub-director general of the Cooperative Action of the Development Cooperation Institute at the Ministry of Economic Affairs (1991-1993); National Commission Expert in the Delegation of the EEC Commission in Beijing (1993-1994); sub-director-general for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1994-1996); embassy advisor in London (1996-2001), minister-embassy advisor in Tel-Aviv (2001-2004); ambassador to Addis Ababa with accreditation for Seychelles and Djibouti; permanent observer of Spain at the African Union (2004-2005); director general of Foreign Policy for Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2005-2008); ambassador to Doha (2011-2015); supervisor in Sub-Directorate General for Sub-Saharan Africa, for Legal Affairs and Consular Affairs (2016); and consul general in Bern (2017-2018).
Foreign languages known: Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese.
