Pope Francis on October 29, 2018, received María Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
On June 5, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly elected Ms. Espinosa, Foreign Minister of Ecuador, President of its seventy-third session — only the fourth woman to hold that position in the world body’s history and the first since 2006.
Ms. Espinosa has more than 20 years of multilateral experience in international negotiations, peace, security, defense, disarmament, human rights, indigenous peoples, gender equality, sustainable development, environment, biodiversity, climate change, and multilateral cooperation. She twice served Ecuador as Minister for Foreign Affairs, as Minister for National Defence and as Coordinating Minister for Natural and Cultural Heritage.
