diplomat
Yesterday, the Council of Ministers appointed Juan Fernández Trigo, previously Spain’s Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and the World, as Spain’s Ambassador to Portugal. diplomat I expected it.
Fernández Trigo replaces Lisbon’s Marta Betánzos, who has been in the position for more than five years. He was appointed as Secretary of State for Ibero-American Affairs in July 2021, following the appointment of José Manuel Álvarez to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Born in 1958, Fernández Trigo had a long career as a diplomat.Starting in 1986, he served as Ambassador to Haiti from 2007 to 2011. In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake seriously injured his arm and severely damaged the Spanish diplomatic mission.
He then served as Ambassador of Paraguay from 2011 to 2013, and as Ambassador and Head of Delegation of Uruguay to the European Union from 2013 to 2017. In 2017, the government of Mariano Rajoy entrusted him with the task of coordinating the application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution in Catalonia, following a separatist attempt that year.
In 2018, with the entry into the government of Pedro Sánchez, Juan Fernández Trigo was appointed ambassador to Cuba, and two years later was given the task of leading the Venezuelan embassy, not as ambassador but as chargé d’affaires., because at that time relations between Madrid and Caracas were going through a delicate period. He remained in that position until he was appointed Secretary of State.
Previously, he served as the United Nations’ diplomatic mission to Spain, Morocco, Vietnam, New York and Cuba in the European Union. He also serves as Deputy Director-General for Multilateral International Economic Relations and Air, Maritime and Land Cooperation. He rose to prominence with decorations such as the Civilian Order of Merit, the Order of Isabel La Catolica, or the Grand Cross of the Haitian Order of Honor.