Maria Luiza Viotti (born on in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) is the Chef de Cabinet to

UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...

. Viotti was the

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

from 2013 until 2016,

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

from 2007 until 2013, and

President of the United Nations Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of t ...

for the month of February 2011. She is married to Eduardo Baumgratz Viotti and has a son.

Education

Viotti has a bachelor's degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

from the University of Brasilia, which she received in 1979. She has a post-graduate degree in the same subject, which she completed in 1981, from the same university. She attended the Rio Branco Institute, the Brazilian diplomatic academy.New Permanent Representative of Brazil presents credentials - Biographical Note
United Nations. Retrieved on 2011-02-23.

Diplomatic career

Viotti joined the Brazilian Foreign Service in 1976. She held several positions within the Ministry of External Relations, including: *Director-General of the Department of International Organizations; *Director-General of the Department of Human Rights and Social Affairs; *Secretary-General of the South America Division; *Executive Coordinator in the cabinet of the Minister of External Relations.

Overseas assignments

Viotti served as Counselor at the Brazilian Embassy in

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bol ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, from 1993 to 1995, and from 1985 to 1989, Viotti served as a First Secretary at the Brazilian Mission to the United Nations, when she started to specialize in the UN System. In 1999, Viotti returned to the Brazilian Mission to the United Nations as a Minister-Counselor. Viotti was the Vice-Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and led Brazil's delegation to the negotiations in preparation for the International Conference on Financing for Development. She was also a member of the Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Group on

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

. In 2005, Viotti assumed the post of

Chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassado ...

of Brazil to the United Nations, and she was appointed Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party ...

on 5 January 2007. Viotti presented her credentials to UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Ministe ...

on 25 July 2007. Viotti was the

for the month of February 2011, when Brazil held the rotating presidency of the Council. Viotti was succeeded by Luiz Alberto Figueiredo on 16 January 2013. At the end of 2015, Viotti was appointed as a future candidate to the post of Secretary-General of the UN. Being a close friend of several Permanent Representatives for decades; having played an important part in assuring the stability and conciliation of political forces in Afghanistan; and having long worked for human rights advances and social development in the poorest countries, she was the Brazilian favourite.

''"As a multidimensional threat, terrorism must be addressed from a holistic approach that takes into consideration the diversity of its underlying causes. Radicalism and violence often stem from longstanding social, political, economic and cultural exclusion, amidst which a culture of intolerance may thrive. Development and inclusiveness are key tools to combat terrorism".''

From 2016, Viotti served as Under-Secretary for Asia and the Pacific at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she had special responsibility for work on

BRICS BRICS is an acronym for five leading emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The first four were initially grouped as "BRIC" (or "the BRICs") in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill, who coined the te ...

Career with the United Nations

In December 2016, incoming

appointed her as his Chef de Cabinet.

Other activities

United Nations System Staff College The United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) is a UN organization that serves the personnel of the United Nations and its affiliates via interagency learning and training. The organization aims to contribute to a more effective, results-o ...

(UNSSC), chair of the board of governorsBoard of Governors

(UNSSC).

References

External links

Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viotti, Maria 1954 births Living people Permanent Representatives of Brazil to the United Nations Brazilian women ambassadors Ambassadors of Brazil to Germany Rio Branco Institute alumni University of Brasília alumni