Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz informed that President Bachelet appointed two new ambassadors whose appointments have already been notified. Mariano Fernandez, who is currently the Chilean Ambassador to Germany will become the New Ambassador of Chile to the Holy See. At the same time, Monica Jimenez, who is currently the Chilean Ambassador to Israel will assume her role as the new Chilean Ambassador to the Holy See.
Ambassador Mariano Fernandez
Ambassador Mariano Fernandez has had a long and outstanding career and has held high level positions in Chile as well as overseas. He served as Foreign Minister during Michelle Bachelet's first presidential period and he was also former President Frei's Under-Secretary of Foreign Relations.
Overseas, he has been the Chilean Ambassador to The United States, Great Britain, Spain, Italy and the Chilean Mission to the EU.
Mariano Fernandez studied Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and started working for the foreign service in 1969. He specialized in Social Science Methodology at the University of Bonn, Germany.
Between 1971 and 1973 he worked at the Chilean Embassy in East Germany (GDR) where he remained until his return from exile in 1982. During his exile he worked as a journalist and editor for several media centres. Upon his return to Chile he worked as researcher and was a member of The Center for Economic Development (CED).
Ambassador Monica Jimenez
Ambassador Monica Jimenez is a social worker and also studied at the Pontifical University and obtained a master's degree in Social Work Education at the Catholic University of America, in the United States.
The New Ambassador to Israel was Minister of Education during President Bachelet's first presidential period and took part in the National Commission on truth and Reconciliation that investigated human rights violations during Pinochet's dictatorship. She was also President of the Episcopal Chilean Council for Peace and Justice.
She has worked as a consultant to several organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ford Foundation, the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR). She has also worked for The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as well as several other projects in Latin America and Eastern Europe.