Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz (born October 14, 1956 in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Malmierca is the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (2009–present) as a result of the 2009 shake-up by Raúl Castro. He was the Permanent Representative of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

from 2005 to 2009. He is married to Grisell Guadalupe Castano-Rey and they have two children.

Education

Ambassador Malmierca Díaz graduated in economics at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

in 1980. He followed with several postgraduate courses, including at the Higher Institute of International Relations in Havana in international relations and negotiation techniques; at the External Trade Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Havana, in foreign trade, and at the

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 ...

(CEPAL) and '' Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica'' (CIDE) (Economic Research Centre) in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, in economic alternatives for

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. He speaks four languages:

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, English, French and Portuguese.UN biography
/ref>

Political life

Prior to his appointment to the UN, from 2002 to 2005 was Cuba's Ambassador to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. From 1998 to 2002, he served as Deputy Minister in his country's Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation in Havana. In that same Ministry, he served as Director of the European and North American Division from 1997 to 1998. Prior to this, he was Counsellor in charge of economic and trade affairs at the Cuban Embassy in

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, from 1992 to 1997. From 1982 to 1992 he was Specialist of Cooperation in the Division of Economic International Institutions of the State Committee for Economic Cooperation in Havana. He started his career in 1981 in Project Management of the ECIMETAL Enterprise, also in Havana.

References

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

, ''Cuban Economy: Purge Aims to Halt Cuba's Economic Free Fall'', Sunday March 8, 2009, Page 1A.

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090306080555/http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/pdf/martes/pagina5.pdf *http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=105&sid=1614566 *https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6992631 *https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE52868R20090309 *https://web.archive.org/web/20090401152243/http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_cuba/mar2009/official-note030209.html *http://www.embacubalebanon.com/cur_min1.html Cuban diplomats Government ministers of Cuba Living people 1956 births Ambassadors of Cuba to Belgium Ambassadors of Cuba to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Cuba to the European Union Permanent representatives of Cuba to the United Nations Politicians from Havana Communist Party of Cuba politicians 2000s in Cuba 2010s in Cuba 21st-century Cuban politicians {{cuba-politician-stub