Rebeca Grynspan
Secretary-General of the UNCTAD
Assumed office
13 September 2021
Preceded byMukhisa Kituyi
Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat
In office
1 April 2014 – 10 September 2021
Preceded byEnrique Iglesias
Succeeded byAndrés Allamand (designated)
Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
In office
1 February 2010 – 1 April 2014
Preceded byAd Melkert
Succeeded byMaria Eugenia Casar
Second Vice President of Costa Rica
In office
8 May 1994 – 8 May 1998
PresidentJosé María Figueres
Preceded byArnoldo López Echandi
Succeeded byElizabeth Odio Benito
Personal details
Born (1955-12-14) 14 December 1955
San José, Costa Rica
Political partyNational Liberation Party
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Costa Rica
University of Sussex

Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (born 14 December 1955) is a Costa Rican economist who has been serving as Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) since 13 September 2021.

Grynspan previously served as Ibero-American Secretary General (2014–2021) and as UN Under-Secretary-General[1] and the Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (2010–2014). She previously served as Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, appointed to the position by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in December 2005.[2] She was the Vice President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998.

Early life and education

Grynspan is the daughter of Manuel Grynspan Burstin and Sara Mayufis Schapiro, immigrants from Poland of Jewish ancestry. Grynspan obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in economics from the University of Costa Rica and later on a Master of Arts in Economics from Sussex University.

Early career

Early in her career, Grynspan was a professor and researcher at the Economic Science Research Institute at the University of Costa Rica.

Political career

Career in national politics

Grynspan has held various official functions in her country such as Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998 and concurrently as Housing Minister from 1996 to 1998, Coordinating Minister of Economy from 1995 to 1996, Coordinating Minister of Social Affairs from 1994 to 1998 and Vice-Minister of Finance from 1986 to 1988.

Career with the United Nations[3]

Grynspan was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to be the eighth secretary-general of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 13 September 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position in the history of the organization.

Grynspan served as Director of the Subregional Headquarters in Mexico of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) from 2001 to 2006, where she also served as Co-Chair of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Executive Board.[4] She was also a member of the UN Millennium Project’s Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development and of the UN High-Level Panel on Financing for Development.

Grynspan served as Assistant-Secretary-General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from 2006 to 2010.[5] In 2010, she was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the position of UN Under-Secretary-General and the Associate Administrator, serving under the leadership of Helen Clark.

Grynspan and Chantal-Line Carpentier of UNCTAD at COP28 in 2023

Grynspan is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) Program for the Support of Women´s Leadership and Representation (PROLEAD); She is former vice president of the board of directors of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington, D.C.

SEGIB[6]

Grynspan was unanimously elected Secretary General of the Ibero-American Secretary General (Secretaria General Iberoamericana), SEGIB, in a special meeting of the Ministers of External Relations on February 24, 2014 in Mexico City, in which representatives of all 22 member countries were present. She succeeded in the office Enrique V. Iglesias who had held the position since the establishment of SEGIB in 2005.[7][8]

In September 2016, Grynspan was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to serve as member of the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.[9]

In early 2021, Grynspan was appointed by the G20 to the High Level Independent Panel (HLIP) on financing the global commons for pandemic preparedness and response, co-chaired by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Lawrence Summers.[10]

Return to the United Nations

In June 2021, following consultations with member states, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres proposed Grynspan as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.[11]

Recognition

In 2014 and 2015, Grynspan was recognized as one of the 50 leading intellectuals of Latin America and, in 2017, she received a Forbes Excellence Award[12] and was granted the Grand Cross of Civil Order of Alfonso X “The Wise[13]” by the Spanish Government. In recognition of her professional achievements, the University of Extremadura[14] and the European University conferred her an honorary doctorate.[15]

Other activities

References

  1. ↑ "Rebeca Grynspan, Secretaria General Iberoamericana". SEGIB website. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "ECLAC Officer Appointed as UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean". CEPAL. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Office of the Secretary-General | UNCTAD". unctad.org. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  4. ↑ "Secretary-General appoints Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica as Director of UN Development Programme's Latin America and Caribbean Bureau". UN. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "United Nations Development Programme - Rebeca Grynspan, UNDP Associate Administrator". UNDP. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ibero-American General Secretariat". www.segib.org. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  7. ↑ "Rebeca Grynspan, Secretaria General Iberoamericana". SEGIB website. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  8. ↑ González, Miguel (18 Feb 2014). "Rebeca Grynspan será la nueva secretaria general iberoamericana". El País. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Secretary-General Appoints 29 Global Leaders to Spearhead Fight against Malnutrition United Nations, press release of 21 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Ministry of Economy and FinanceThe G20 establishes a High Level Independent Panel on financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response Ministry of Economy and Finance, press release of January 27, 2021.
  11. ↑ Ms. Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica - Secretary-General of UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations, press release of June 11, 2021.
  12. ↑ Redacción. "La secretaria general iberoamericana Rebeca Grynspan cierra este viernes el ciclo de conferencias 'De Cádiz al mundo'". www.portaldecadiz.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  13. ↑ "12 nuevas Grandes Cruces de la Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio".
  14. ↑ "La UEx inviste Doctora Honoris Causa a Rebeca Grynspan — Portal de la UEX - Bienvenido a la Universidad de Extremadura". www.unex.es. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  15. ↑ "Rebeca Grynspan, Honorary PhD from Universidad Europea". universidadeuropea.es. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  16. ↑ Strategic Committee Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA).
  17. ↑ "The Future of International Governance & Public-Private Cooperation". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  18. ↑ "SUN Movement Lead Group". SUN. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  19. ↑ "www.sidint.net". www.sidint.net. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  20. ↑ Advisory Board Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity (GISP).
  21. ↑ "Inter-American Dialogue | Rebeca Grynspan". www.thedialogue.org. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  22. ↑ Advisory Board International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA).
  23. ↑ "Global Commission on the Future of Work". 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  24. ↑ "The Fourth Sector Group". The Fourth Sector Group. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  25. ↑ "The Fourth Sector Group". The Fourth Sector Group. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  26. ↑ "Global Advisory board - Women Political Leaders Global Forum". Women Political Leaders Global Forum. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  27. ↑ "Women20 (W20) launches its agenda to enrich the G20". 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
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