Marisol Argueta de Barillas is a Salvadoran lawyer and career Ambassador (on leave). She is the Head of Latin America and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum and serves on the advisory boards of the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center and of the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); she is also a member of the Global Council at the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC), and a member of the Oversight Board of the José Matias Delgado University in El Salvador. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of various private companies and non-for-profit organizations and is a strong advocate for public-private cooperation, sustainable development and the advancement of women.
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She was Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, General Director of Foreign Policy and served as a Diplomatic Officer at the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington DC and to the United Nations, in New York. She has received national decorations and special awards from Governments and private associations from Spain, Italy, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Peru. She is recipient of the annual award as distinguished professional from her Alma Mater, has been listed by Forbes, El Economista, Summa and Estrategia y Negocios among the most influential Latin American women. She has also received multiple recognitions for her work in international affairs, trade, Salvadoran migrants’ relief and for her efforts towards Central American integration.
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Argueta de Barillas holds a degree in Law and a master’s degree in diplomacy from the University of Oxford, England. With specialized studies at the International Peace Academy, Harvard University and the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. She was an instructor of Constitutional Law and State Theory and is a well-regarded analyst and lecturer and has published articles and essays on foreign policy, international relations and regional affairs. She is married to Carlos Barillas and they have three daughters: Alexia, Florence and Gabriela.