Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama (2014-2019), Isabel de Saint Malo has over 30 years of experience in consulting, development and implementation of public policies in Latin America. In 2014, she became the first woman to be elected to the Vice Presidency in Panama, as well as the first woman appointed Foreign Minister. In her capacity as Vice President and based on her government’s priorities, she chaired the Social Cabinet (“Gabinete Social”) and led the National Council for Development (“Concertación Nacional para el Desarrollo), from which posts advancement of the SDGs have been promoted, including at the UN by way of Panama’s voluntary SDG progress report.

In recognition of Ms. de Saint Malo’s contributions to building national consensus across two decades, she received the 2012 Women of the Year award from the Panamanian Business Executives Association (APEDE) – the first person in Latin America to receive that honour. Currently, she is Senior Advisor to UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner in Development Strategy and Policy, as well as the UN Women Ambassador for Innovative Finance with a gender lens.