Ina Marčiulionytė (born 1963) is the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

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 ...

at the headquarters in Paris and has served in that post since 2003. Since 2007, she also serves as Vice-President of the UNESCO Executive Board. Since September 2015, Marčiulionytė is Lithuanian Ambassador in Beijing (People's Republic of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

). In 2009, she was jointly nominated by Lithuania,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

as a candidate to the post of UNESCO Director-General.

Biography

As a former Chair of the

World Heritage Committee The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance ...

, she was leading UNESCO's efforts to improve the Organization's most visible area of activity, protection of the

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, by strengthening the safeguarding and monitoring of the sites on the World Heritage list. In 1999, she was appointed Vice-Minister of the

Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos kultūros ministerija) is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuania. Its mission is to formulate and implement state cultural policies supporting professional ...

, a position she held to 2003. As Vice-Minister, Ms. Marčiulionytė participated in organizing the international conference "Dialogue Among Civilizations", supported by UNESCO, and contributed to the preparatory work of UNESCO's 2003 Convention on Intangible Heritage. Ms. Marčiulionytė graduated from

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

in 1986, with a degree in Lithuanian language and literature. She had worked as a correspondent and editor for various Lithuanian newspapers and magazines. In 1988 she joined

Sąjūdis Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...

, the Lithuanian Reform Movement that led to regaining the independence of Lithuania in 1990. As a member of Sajūdis, Ms. Marčiulionytė actively sought to revive the use of the Lithuanian language and to protect the cultural heritage suppressed during the Soviet period. Ms. Marčiulionytė was a driving force for freedom and democracy when Lithuania regained its independence. As a founding member of the Open Society Fund Lithuania in 1991, Ms. Marčiulionytė was in the vanguard of the efforts to foster democracy in the newly independent Lithuania. Under her leadership, the Open Society House, responsible for cultural and educational programs, became a well-established meeting place for intellectuals, educators, journalists and artists from all over Lithuania, as well as their counterparts from Eastern and Central Europe. At the Open Society Fund she worked with

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

. She speaks four languages ( English, French, Lithuanian and Russian) and has translated several books and articles published in the national and international specialized press on arts and culture, cultural policy and heritage. She has been honored with the Cross of Commander of the

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

, the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was honors citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices.

References

External links

Baltic Candidate for UNESCO Director-General
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marciulionyte, Ina Permanent Delegates of Lithuania to UNESCO Vilnius University alumni 1963 births Living people Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Ambassadors of Lithuania to China Lithuanian women diplomats Lithuanian women ambassadors