(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 06.11.2023).- On Monday morning, November 6, 2023, two new Ambassadors presented their Letters of Credence, accrediting them as Representatives of their countries to the Pope. They are Mr Everton Vieira Vargas, Brazil’s new Ambassador to the Holy See, and Mrs Manuela Leimgruber, Switzerland’s new Ambassador to the Holy See.
The New Ambassador of Brazil, the Country with Largest Number of Catholics in the World
Ambassador Vieira Vargas was born in Santo Ângelo, Rio Grande do Sul, on January 23, 1955. He is married and has two children.
He studied in the Preparation Course (1976) and the Perfecting Course for Diplomats (1981) at the Rio Branco Institute (IRBR). He took a course in Law at the Association for Unified Teaching of the Federal District (UNIDF), in 1977. He has a Master’s in International Relations from Boston University (1983) and took a Course in Higher Education (IRBR), in 1994. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Brasilia (2001).
Among others, he has held the following posts: Assistant in the Division of the Organization of American States and Ministry of Foreign Relations (1977); Second Secretary in the Embassy in Bonn, Germany (1981); Assistant (1985) and Deputy Chief (1987) in the Division of Science and Technology in the Ministry of Foreign Relations; First Secretary and Adviser, Representation to the UN in New York (1988); Adviser, Embassy of Japan (1992); General Secretariat, General Coordinator of the Summit of the Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995) ; Head, Environment Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998); General Director, Department of the Environment and Special Topics (2001); Special Assistant (2005), Head of Cabinet (2006) of the Secretary General of Foreign Affairs (Relations with the United States of America, Canada, Europe and Multilateral Topics); General Under-Secretary, Political Sub-Secretariat I (2007); Climate Change Negotiator (2001-2005 and 2007); Ambassador in Berlin, Germany (2009); and Coordinator of International Relations, State of Para (2019-2023).
New Ambassadress of the Country from Which the Pope’s Army Hails
Mrs Manuela Leimgruber was born in 1971 and is a native of Herznach (Canton of Aargau). She is married and has a son.
She has a degree in Law from the University of Fribourg and a Master’s in European Law from the Collège d’Europe of Bruges, Belgium.
Among others, she has held the following posts: she began her diplomatic career in the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in 2001 and then, before being Diplomatic Collaborator in the FDFA’s Office of International Public Law, she was posted to the Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. She was Head of Political Affairs and Juridical Affairs of the Embassy in Italy (2006-2010); Head of Political Coordination with Neighbouring Countries (FDFA) (2010-2015); Head of the Attached Mission of the Embassy in Colombia (2015-2019); and Head Attached Mission of the Embassy in Kenya (2019-2023).
