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Ivonne Baki

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Ivonne Baki
Ivonne Baki in 2013
Ecuadorian Ambassador to the United States
In office
3 February 2020 – 8 February 2024
PresidentLenin Moreno
Guillermo Lasso
Daniel Noboa
Preceded byFrancisco Carrión
In office
1998–2002
PresidentJamil Mahuad
Gustavo Noboa
President of the Andean Parliament
In office
2007–2009
Preceded byLuis Fernando Duque
Succeeded byFausto Lupera
Minister of Industries and Productivity
In office
2003–2005
PresidentLucio Gutiérrez
Preceded byRichard Moss Ferreira
Succeeded byOswaldo Molestina [es]
Personal details
Born
Ivonne Leila Juez Abuchacra

(1951-02-23) 23 February 1951 (age 73)
Guayaquil
NationalityEcuador
Alma materHarvard University, University of Paris
OccupationDiplomat, politician

Ivonne Leila Juez Abuchacra de Baki (born 23 February 1951) is an Ecuadorian politician and diplomat. She is most known for her time as the Ecuadorian Minister of Industries and Productivity and as the President of the Andean Parliament. She is Ecuador's former Ambassador to Qatar and the United States. She was the first Ecuadorian female ambassador to America.[1] She was the Ecuadorian Ambassador to France for most of 2024.[2]

Biography

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Ivonne Baki was born on 23 February 1951 in Guayaquil to Fred Juez and Anan Abuchacra, both Lebanese immigrants to Ecuador.[3] At 17, Ivonne married Lebanese millionaire Sami A-Baki, took his surname, and moved to his residence in Lebanon. The couple would be present in the country for much of the Lebanese Civil War.[4] In 1982, Ivonne Baki moved to Paris and studied the arts at the Sorbonne.[3] Later, she would study Public administration at Harvard University.[5]

Beginnings in diplomacy

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Baki began her political career as Ecuador's consul to Beirut in 1981. From 1992 to 1998, she was an honorary consul in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States of America.[4]

In 1995, Baki and Roger Fisher received a request from the President Sixto Durán Ballén to participate in the peace deliberations of the Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru. Both accepted and agreed to cooperate, moving to Ecuador and were involved in the process that led to the Brasilia Presidential Act in 1998.[5] In the same year, Jamil Mahuad, the new president of Ecuador, appointed Baki the Ecuadorian Ambassador to the United States of America,[6] the first woman appointed to this office.[5] In this position, Baki played a key role in achieving favorable trade agreements with the United States.[6]

In 2000, Baki founded the Galapagos Conservancy, after an oil spill took place in the Galapagos Islands, with the aid of American tycoon Donald Trump, whom she had met and befriended during a diplomatic trip to the United States.[7] During the 2002 Ecuadorian general election, Baki made a failed attempt for the Presidency of Ecuador as head of META.[8]

Ministry of Industries and Productivity

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On 15 January 2003, Baki was appointed Minister of Industries and Productivity [es] by President Lucio Gutiérrez, yet again becoming the first woman to occupy that office.[9] While holding this office, Baki also managed to have Miss Universe 2004 hosted in Quito, Ecuador thanks to her friendship to Donald Trump, owner of the company that organized the event. In response to criticism levied at her over the high cost of the event, Baki said that the money was "an investment" and not an expense and that it would provide an "excellent opportunity to promote the country [Ecuador] abroad."[10] Another landmark of Baki's running of the Ministry was her attempt to establish a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which was widely criticized by indigenous groups, who held demonstrations against Baki's ministry.[6]

Later political activity

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During the 2006 legislative election [es], Baki was elected to the Andean Parliament to represent the Patriotic Society Party.[11] Once her membership of the Andean Parliament began, the Ecuadorian delegation proposed as a candidate for the Presidency of the Parliament for the 2007–2009 term.[5]

At the beginning of 2010, she was elected head of the team negotiating Yasuní-ITT Initiative by President Rafael Correa with the objective of raising 3,600 million dollars from the international community in exchange for the cessation of exploiting of approximately 846 million barrels of oil underneath Yasuni National Park.[12] The project could not achieve these goals and was dissolved mid-2013.[13]

In February 2020, Baki was confirmed as Ambassador to the United States by President Lenín Moreno.[2] In February 2024 she became Ecuador's ambassador in Paris but that appointment was terminated on 6 November 2024 by President Noboa.[14]

Citations

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  1. ^ Luxner, Larry (6 December 2021). "Ecuador's US envoy, Ivonne A-Baki, expounds on 'the art of diplomacy'". Washington Diplomat. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Ivonne Baki es la nueva embajadora de Ecuador en Estados Unidos". El Comercio. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Baki, 'chica Harvard' de brazo flexionado y pantalón ceñido". Hoy (in Spanish). 12 September 2002. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b "El nuevo gabinete". El Universo (in Spanish). 15 January 2003. Archived from the original on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d "Congresista ecuatoriana Ivonne Baki elegida presidente del Parlamento Andino". La Hora (in Spanish). 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Ivonne Juez de Baki: La mujer que pasó de defender el TLC al ITT". El Universo (in Spanish). 14 February 2010. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Baki todavía no se posesiona como embajadora en Catar". El Comercio (in Spanish). 17 October 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Los que quedaron atrás". BBC Mundo (in Spanish). 22 November 2002. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Duración de los ministros titulares" (PDF). industrias.gob.ec (in Spanish). Ministry of Industries and Productivity. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  10. ^ Ampuero, María Fernanda (4 January 2004). "Ivonne Baki, la ministra del Miss Universo". El Universo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Sánchez preside el Parlamento Andino". El Universo (in Spanish). 7 January 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Ivonne Juez de Baki: "No se necesitarían plazos si no dependiéramos del petróleo"". El Universo (in Spanish). 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Baki se despidió entre lágrimas del plan Yasuní-ITT". El Telégrafo (in Spanish). 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  14. ^ Alvear, Giovanna (6 November 2024). "Daniel Noboa remueve a Ivonne Baki de la Embajada en Francia". El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
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