María Fernanda Silva

María Fernanda Silva 2020

María Fernanda Silva is an Argentine diplomat and ambassador for the country to the Holy See . She is the first Afro-born Argentine woman to join the Argentine diplomatic service and who will represent the South American country as ambassador from 2020.

Career

Silva is the daughter of a Cape Verde- born mother and an Argentinian father. She has a degree in political science with a focus on international relations. In 1993 she became a member of the permanent service of the Institute for Foreign Service of the Argentine Nation (Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nación Argentina, ISEN). Among other things, she worked in the office of the International Court of Arbitration Argentina / Chile to settle the conflict over the Laguna del Desierto and in the Argentine embassy in Santiago de Chile . Further stations were the embassies in Venezuela and Ecuador , where she also represented her country in the South American confederation Unasur . She also took part in meetings of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) as an authorized representative ( Ministre plénipotentiaire ) .

Appointment as ambassador to the Holy See

During Cristina Kirchner's second term in office , Silva worked as a deputy embassy employee under Eduardo Valdés at the Vatican until he was recalled by President Mauricio Macri in 2015. However, she was still not the first choice for the new ambassador post to be filled. Originally the diplomat Luis Bellando was supposed to represent Argentina in the Holy See. However, his appointment was rejected by the Vatican because his first marriage was civil only and later divorced. The Catholic Silva has also had a marriage that also resulted in a daughter. However, this was declared invalid under canon law when her husband decided to become a priest. This process was accompanied by Pope Francis , who at that time was still Archbishop in Buenos Aires , who is already personally acquainted with the new ambassador.

On the one hand, the self-commitment of the current left government to achieve gender parity spoke in favor of Silva's appointment. On the other hand, their commitment to the poorer population and the rights of migrants may have played a role, as these areas are also very important to the Pope.

Until her surprising appointment, it was considered certain that Silva would take over the management of the newly created Directorate for Women and Gender Issues (Dirección de la Mujer y Asuntos de Género) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jürgen Vogt: the portrait: Argentina's ambassador María Fernanda Silva is considered single in the Vatican . In: The daily newspaper: taz . February 7, 2020, ISSN  0931-9085 , p. 2 ( taz.de [accessed February 9, 2020]).
2. ^ FAO Committee on World Food Security: List of Delegates. 2016, accessed February 13, 2020 (English, French, Spanish). 
3. ^ World Food Program: List of Participants. June 15, 2017, accessed February 9, 2020 (English, Spanish, French). 
4. ↑ Perfil: Quién es María Fernanda Silva, la embajadora en el Vaticano, afrodescendiente y con cercanía al Papa. January 30, 2020, accessed February 13, 2020 (Spanish). 
5. ↑ Fernanda Silva. For primera vez, una mujer afrodescendiente será embajadora de la Argentina. January 30, 2020, accessed February 9, 2020 (Spanish).