Federico Villegas Beltrán (born 24 March 1966) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

career diplomat, currently serving as president of the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

during the year 2022. Villegas previously served as Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2020, and as ambassador of Argentina to

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

from 2016 to 2020.

Early life and education

Villegas was born on 24 March 1966 in

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...

, Argentina. He studied law at the

National University of Rosario The National University of Rosario ( es, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, UNR) is a research public university located in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Overview Rosario National University (UNR) was created in 1968 by ...

, graduating in 1989, and later attained a ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (ALM, MALA, MLS, or MALS) is a graduate degree that aims to provide both depth and breadth of study in the liberal arts. It is by nature an interdisciplinary program, generally pulling together coursework f ...

degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. His final dissertation was on "Co-operative Security in the post-Cold War". He has taught courses on international public law as an auxiliary professor at the National University of Rosario and at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

, and was a visiting faculty at the

Walsh School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at both ...

. He participated in the United Nations Disarmament Fellowship.

Career

Villegas entered the Argentine foreign service in 1993, when he graduated from the

Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nación The Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nación ("Foreign Service Institute of the Nation", ISEN), is the Argentina, Argentine Government of Argentina, government's training institution for employees of the diplomatic service. It is dependent o ...

(ISEN). From 1993 to 1995, he formed part of the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

's Directorate for International Security, Nuclear and Space Affairs. He additionally served as alternate representative to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

from 1995 to 2003. Later, from 2005 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2015, he was the Argentine MFA's Director General for Human Rights. Villegas headed the Argentine MFA's project to establish the first National Programme against Discrimination, in co-operation with the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

. He was also involved in the establishment of the

Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina ...

Centre of Human Rights Public Policy (IPPDH) and the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

International Centre for Human Rights, both of which are headquartered in Argentina. In 2016, he was designated as Argentina's first ambassador to

, serving in the position until 2020. During his tenure, he inaugurated Argentina's diplomatic headquarters in

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

, and participated in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme as Argentina headed the international experts group which led to the 2019 Peace and Reconciliation Accord. On 6 December 2021, he was elected president of the

during the year 2022, succeeding Fiji's

Nazhat Shameem Nazhat Shameem Khan (born 1960) is a Fijian diplomat and former judge who served as the Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations from 2014 to 2022. She was also the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2021. S ...

References

External links

Argentine Representation before International Organisations in Geneva
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villegas, Federico 1966 births Living people People from Santiago del Estero Argentine diplomats 20th-century Argentine lawyers Permanent Representatives of Argentina to the United Nations Georgetown University alumni National University of Rosario alumni National University of Rosario faculty University of Buenos Aires faculty Walsh School of Foreign Service faculty