# Mauricio Montalvo Samaniego

Mauricio Montalvo Samaniego (born June 26, 1961) Ecuadorean lawyer, diplomat and university professor. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, holds a LL.M. from Harvard Law School and was Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva. Currently he is the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS, in Washington DC.

## Biographical Review

During his university years, he served as the Student Representative to the Academic Council of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) in 1983 and later became President of the PUCE Law School Association in 1984.
He graduated with a Doctorate in Jurisprudence (1986), a Law Degree (1986), and a Bachelor's in Legal Sciences (1984) from PUCE. In 1990, he earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard University, where he was a classmate of President Barack Obama. He also holds a Diploma in Public Administration from the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) in Paris, France (2004).
Montalvo has an extensive academic career, teaching at prestigious institutions such as the PUCE Faculty of Jurisprudence, the Central University of Ecuador, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), and the University of Las Américas (UDLA), where he served as Dean in 2014. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Puerto Rico Law School and a lecturer at renowned institutions like IAEN, FLACSO, Universidad Andina, Academia de Guerra, and Escuela Superior de Policía. Throughout his career, he has published numerous scholarly articles on legal and international relations.
His diplomatic service is distinguished by various high-profile positions. Notably, he served as Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C. (1987–1989), First Secretary at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York (1990–1992), and Alternate Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris (1996–2001). From 2006 to 2011, he was Ecuador's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. More recently, he held the post of Ambassador to Australia, with concurrent accreditation to New Zealand and Fiji (2020–2021). In 2021, he was appointed Ecuador's Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Guillermo Lasso.
Currently, Montalvo serves as the Ecuadorian Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS).
Within Ecuador, Montalvo has held several significant roles in the Foreign Ministry, including Director General of Consular and Migration Affairs, Director General for the Americas, and Director General of Sovereignty. He has also served as the Director General of Multilateral Policy, Director General of Social Communication, and Director General of Border Relations with Colombia. He held the position of Secretary of the Consultative Jurisdiction and was the General Coordinator of Summits, among other key roles.
Outside his diplomatic work, Montalvo has been a Legal Advisor to the Ecuadorian Presidency, an Advisor to the Minister of Finance, and a Consultant for the World Bank. Additionally, he was appointed Undersecretary General of Public Administration, showcasing his vast experience in both public service and academia.

## Distinctions

* Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit of Chile
* Cavalieri of the Order of Solidarity of Italy

## Published work

He is co-author of the book "El camino a la integración desde la identidad: Una aproximación suramericana" with the Ecuadorian political scientist Bernardo Gortaire Morejón. In this book, the authors study the importance of identity in the construction of stronger and more successful regional integration processes.