Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico is the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the 2019 Climate Summit. Before his appointment, in November 2018, Mr. de Alba was Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs since September 2017. Appointed Ambassador in 2001, he brings distinguished experience as Permanent Representative of Mexico to the Organization of American States, to the International Organizations in Vienna, to the United Nations in New York and to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, among other postings.
As his country’s Special Representative for Climate Change, Mr. de Alba led the negotiations for the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16) in Cancún, Mexico. He has held several elected positions at the United Nations, including Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council (2012) and first President of the Human Rights Council in Geneva (2006-2007). A diplomat since 1983, he undertook various other assignments in Mexico’s Foreign Ministry.
Born in 1957, Mr. de Alba holds a degree in international relations from the Institut d´Étude des Relations Internationales in Paris.
