NEW DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERALS TAKE OFFICE AT THE UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN

Barcelona, 10 September 2019. In accordance with the unanimous decision by the 43 Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean, Marisa Farrugia (Malta), Isidro Antonio González Afonso (Spain) and Grammenos Mastrojeni (Italy) have taken office as Deputy Secretary Generals of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).

• Isidro González Afonso takes the position of Deputy Secretary General for Water, Environment and Blue economy

Isidro González Afonso is a Spanish career diplomat who has served the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation for the past eighteen years, holding positions as Counsellor and Senior Adviser in several Foreign Affairs Minister´s Cabinets in Madrid, and, lately, as Counsellor at the Embassy of Spain in Rabat, Morocco. 

He has also been a member of the Spanish OSCE Chairmanship Team in 2007 at the Permanent Mission of Spain to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna; Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Spain in Nicosia; and working for the Spanish diplomatic service in the Republic of Cyprus, Jerusalem and also Mauritania.

 Isidro González Afonso has a wide experience in the Mediterranean region, with a special focus on regional integration and negotiations for conflict management and resolution. He holds a degree in Political Science and Sociology from the Complutense University of Madrid and in Law from the UNED and a an Executive Master on Conflict Management and Resolution with the Department of Negotiations for Conflicts of Harvard University.

In addition: 

• Grammenos Mastrojeni takes the position of Deputy Secretary General for Energy and Climate Action
• Marisa Farrugia takes the position of Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil Affairs