Rebeca Grynspan is the Secretary General of SEGIB, the Ibero-American Secretary General, a former UN Under-Secretary-General, and the former Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She previously served as Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, appointed to the position by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in December 2005. Grynspan has been a strong and consistent advocate for human development. She has helped focus global attention on the need to reduce inequality, build social cohesion, empower women, and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Before joining the United Nations, Grynspan was a Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. She also served as Housing Minister, Coordinating Minister of Economy, Coordinating Minister of Social Affairs, and Vice-Minister of Finance. Grynspan was also Director of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Sub-regional Headquarters in Mexico, where she also served as Co-Chair of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Executive Board. Grynspan received her undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Costa Rica and her graduate degree in economics from the University of Sussex. She was a professor and researcher at the Economic Science Research Institute at the University of Costa Rica.
