Alicia Isabel Adriana Bárcena Ibarra (born 5 March 1952) is a Mexican

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and the current Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico. She was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2023 to 2024 and previously served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC, ECLAC or ''CEPAL'', in Spanish: ''Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe'') is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooper ...

(ECLAC) from July 2008 to March 2022.

Early life and education

Bárcena holds a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM) and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

Early beginnings

Bárcena is a former undersecretary of the environment in the federal cabinet and a former director of Mexico's National Fisheries Institute (''Spanish: Instituto Nacional de Pesca''). Bárcena was the Founding Director of the Earth Council in Costa Rica until 1995. The Earth Council is a non-governmental organization in charge of the follow-up of the agreements reached in the

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 t ...

(UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Bárcena collaborated in the UNCED Secretariat as Principal Officer in charge of various topics related to

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action ag ...

. Within the realm of academia, Bárcena was the Director of the South-East Regional Centre of the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones sobre Recursos Bióticos in the state of

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

, working closely with the Mayan communities. She has taught and researched on natural sciences mostly on botany, ethnobotany and ecology. She has published a number of articles on sustainable development, namely on financing, public policies, environment and public participation as for example on the online magazine ''Impakter''.

Career with the United Nations

From 1995, Bárcena acted as Coordinator of the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

(UNEP), in charge of a global programme on environmental citizenship with emphasis on the participation of civil society, as well as adviser to the Latin American and Caribbean Sustainable Development Programme in the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(UNDP). Until 2006, Bárcena was Deputy Executive Secretary of the

(ECLAC) earlier in her career. In this position, she has actively promoted the implementation of the

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

and on Financing for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Within ECLAC, she also served as the Chief of the Environment and Human Settlements Division, where she focused on public policies for sustainable development with particular reference to the linkages between environment, economy and social issues. On 3 March 2006, United Nations Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

announced Bárcena's appointment as Acting Chef de Cabinet in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. Her appointment took effect on 8 December 2005 after the departure of the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, and

Mark Malloch Brown George Mark Malloch Brown, Baron Malloch-Brown (born 16 September 1953) is a British diplomat, communications consultant, journalist and former politician serving as president of Open Society Foundations since 2021, having previously served as ...

's assumption of his new duties as Deputy Secretary-General. On 3 January 2007, 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 the South Korean minister ...

appointed Bárcena as UN

Under-Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

for Management. Her appointment marked the first time since 1992 that this position was not been held by a U.S. citizen.

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), 2008–2022

In 2008, Ban announced Bárcena's appointment as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); she replaced

José Luis Machinea José Luis Machinea (born October 5, 1946) is an Argentine economist and United Nations official. He was Minister of Economy and President of the Central Bank. Career Machinea was born in Buenos Aires, and earned a degree in Economics from the ...

. Her term concluded on 31 March 2022. From 2014 until 2015, Bárcena served on the Secretary-General's Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, co-chaired by

Enrico Giovannini Enrico Giovannini (born 6 June 1957) is an Italian economist, statistician and academic, member of the Club of Rome. Since February 2021, he has been serving as Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility in the Draghi Government. From ...

and

Robin Li Robin Li Yanhong (; born 17 November 1968) is a Chinese software engineer and billionaire internet entrepreneur who is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Chinese multinational technology company Baidu. As of May 2025, his net worth wa ...

. In 2016, she was appointed by

Erik Solheim Erik Solheim (born 18 January 1955) is a Norwegian diplomat and former politician. He served in the Norwegian government from 2005 to 2012 as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General ...

, the Chairman of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Development Assistance Committee The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the ...

, to serve on the High Level Panel on the Future of the Development Assistance Committee under the leadership of

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

. From 2016 until 2017, she co-chaired (alongside

Janez Potočnik Janez Potočnik (pronounced ; born 22 March 1958) is a Slovenian politician who served as European Commissioner for Environment from 2009 until 2014. He was formerly Slovenia's Minister for European Affairs. In November 2014, he became co-chair ...

) the International Resource Panel at the

(UNEP).

Return to domestic politics, 2022–2024

In September 2022, Bárcena was confirmed as Mexico's ambassador to Chile. Later that month, President

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...

announced his plans to nominate Bárcena to succeed

Mauricio Claver-Carone Mauricio Claver-Carone (born 1975) is an American lawyer, investor, diplomat and lobbyist. He was an official in the Treasury Department, National Security Council and State Department, in both Donald Trump Administrations. He was nominated and ...

as head of the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

(IDB). By November 2022, Bárcena had spoken with López Obrador to withdraw her nomination "for personal reasons"; instead, López Obrador nominated Gerardo Esquivel Hernández for the position. On 3 July 2023, Bárcena resigned her post as ambassador to Chile to take office as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, replacing

Marcelo Ebrard Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (; born 10 October 1959) is a Mexicans, Mexican politician who has served as the Secretariat of Economy, secretary of economy since 2024. He previously served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Mexico), Secretary of ...

. On 20 June 2024, president-elect

Claudia Sheinbaum Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (born 24 June 1962) is a Mexican politician, energy and climate change scientist, and academic who has served as the 66th president of Mexico since 2024. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and ...

announced that as of October 2024, Bárcena was to serve in her cabinet as the head of the

Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (in Spanish: ''Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, SEMARNAT'') is Mexico's environment ministry. Its head, the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, is a member o ...

Other activities

* Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2017) *

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

/''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

'' Independent Panel on Global Governance for Health, Member *

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

(WEF), Co-Chair of the Global Future Council on the Future of Regional Governance *

(WEF), Member of the Global Future Council on Geopolitics (2018-2019) *

Inter-American Dialogue The Inter-American Dialogue (Spanish and Portuguese: ''Diálogo Interamericano''), also known as the Dialogue or IAD, is a U.S.-based think tank in the field of international affairs primarily related to the Western Hemisphere. Headquartered in ...

, Member of the Board (since 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barcena Ibarra, Alicia 1952 births Living people Executive Secretaries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Harvard Kennedy School alumni Members of the Inter-American Dialogue Mexican biologists Mexican officials of the United Nations Mexican women diplomats National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Scientists from Mexico City Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations Female foreign ministers Mason Fellows 21st-century Mexican politicians 21st-century Mexican women politicians 21st-century diplomats Secretaries of foreign affairs of Mexico