# Diana Mondino

Diana Elena Mondino (born 8 August 1958) is an Argentine economist, academic, and politician, formerly serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic from 2023 to 2024 under President Javier Milei. Mondino was previously the Director of Institutional Affairs at the University of CEMA.
In the 2023 Argentine general election, she was elected as a national deputy for Buenos Aires city for the La Libertad Avanza coalition. She became Foreign Minister on Milei's inauguration on December 10, 2023 and remained the minister until 30 October 2024 after President Javier Milei dismissed her due to Argentina's support for a UN resolution to lift the US embargo on Cuba.

## Early life and career
### Education in Argentina

Mondino was born in 1958 in the City of Cordoba, in a family of Piedmontese origins, and attended kindergarten through secondary school at the Juan Zorrilla de San Martín Public School. She studied economics at the National University of Córdoba where she received the gold medal for her academic performance and best grade point average. She also began a Doctorate in Economics at the same university but did not complete the degree due to bureaucratic issues, despite defending her thesis.

### Life abroad

In 1982, Mondino moved to Spain, completing a master's degree in economics and marketing from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra. Graduating in 1986, Mondino furthered her education in the United States, completing a master's degree from Columbia Business School in 2001, a degree in executive education from the Yale School of Management in 2018, and a postgraduate degree in ethics from Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.
She founded Rysk Analysis in 1991, and subsequently worked in various private companies, including Loma Negra, S&P Global Ratings, and Banco Supervielle.

### Academic career

Mondino works at UCEMA as a Finance professor in the Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Marketing, among several courses, including for international students. She is also Director of Institutional Affairs at the same university.

## Political career

In 2023, Mondino officially entered politics as a candidate for deputy for La Libertad Avanza in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. After the list she was a member of obtained 17.81% in the PASO and 20.44% in the general elections, she was elected for the period 2023–2027.

### Minister of Foreign Affairs

When Javier Milei was elected president, Mondino resigned from her seat in the chamber to be able to take over as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mondino was expelled from her post by Milei in October 30, 2024 for a non-binding vote in the United Nations in favor of lifting the United States embargo against Cuba, with the former ambassador to the United States Gerardo Werthein serving as her replacement.

## Controversies

On October 31, 2023, in an interview with journalist Luis Novaresio for his program on La Nación +, Mondino generated controversy with her statements in defense of the idea of an "organ market" and by comparing equal marriage with having lice, maintaining that "As a liberal I agree with each person's life project. It is much broader than marriage equality. Let me exaggerate: if you prefer not to bathe and be full of lice and it is your choice, that's it, then don't complain if there is someone who doesn't like you having lice."
After a visit to the Espacio Lejano Station, she claimed scientists and soldiers could not be distinguished because "Chinese all look the same".

## Personal life

Mondino has assets according to her sworn statement of 5,027 million pesos, which makes her the richest official among the ministers appointed by Javier Milei to be part of his cabinet.

## Electoral history

Electoral history of Diana Mondino :
| Election | Office | List | List | No. | District | Votes | Votes | Votes | Result | Ref. |
| Election | Office | List | List | No. | District | Total | % | P. | Result | Ref. |
| 2023 | National Deputy | | La Libertad Avanza | 1 | City of Buenos Aires | 377,451 | 20.54% | 3rd | Elected | |
* ↑ Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire alliance received in that constituency.
* ↑ Never took office.