Maria Fernanda Espinosa
/Overview
María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés born Salamanca, Spain September 7, 1964. Poet and diplomat. Ecuadorian Foreign Minster, 2007; UN Ambassador, 2008-11; Ecuadorian Defense Minister, 2012-present. Closed US base at Manta, 2007; as Permanent Representative to UN, opposed responsibility to protect, 2008; as Defense Minister, promised to close half of military bases and turn them into public places like parks, 2014.
Quotations
"Responsibility to protect does not respect the sovereignty of nations." (The WIP, November 21, 2008)
"Ecuador is a sovereign country. We don't need foreign troops on our soil." (February 15, 2007; photo www.que.es)