Secretary-General appoints Igor Garafulic of Chile as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Brazil

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Igor Garafulic of Chile as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Brazil, with the host Government’s approval. He will take up his post today, 1 June. 

Mr. Garafulic has more than 30 years of experience in international development, economic policy, political dialogue and multilateral coordination, gained through senior leadership roles within the United Nations system and public service across Latin America and beyond. He most recently served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator ad interim in Azerbaijan, following a similar role in Paraguay. He served as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Peru and Honduras before that. Prior to his Resident Coordinator appointments, Mr. Garafulic held several senior positions with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), including Country Director in Guatemala, Senior Advisor, and then Chief of Staff at the UNDP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Garafulic served as Governor of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago in Chile. He also held senior economic and diplomatic roles within the country’s government, including as Head of Agricultural Free Trade Negotiations with China, Japan and Korea and Director of Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this capacity, he represented Chile in negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Mr. Garafulic holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom and a degree in Economics from the University of Chile.

He is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish.

He is married and has two children.