Ivonne A-Baki

Ivonne A-Baki is an artist, painter, diplomat, peace negotiator, humanist, and politician. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, of Arab Lebanese parents, she became involved in the world of the arts at a very young age and discovered its magic and power to unite ideals, cultures, people and nations. It is through her art that she tries to promote peace, unity, and love among nations. As a professional artist, she has exhibited her paintings in many countries on four continents. In 1990 she became Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University, where she created the Harvard Art for Peace Foundation which organizes joint exhibitions and art shows between countries at war. At the same time, she started the Beyond Boundaries Foundation to improve the health of poor people of Ecuador through prevention and education.

As a diplomat, Ambassador A-Baki was instrumental in helping Ecuador and Peru reach a peace agreement on October 26, 1998. Then, as ambassador of Ecuador to the United States, she extended Andean trade preferences, fighting drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. After the oil spill in the Galapagos Islands, Ambassador A-Baki created the Galapagos Conservancy Foundation, which has been instrumental in the protection of the environment.

In 2002 she ran as a candidate for the presidency of Ecuador on a social justice platform aimed at shrinking the great schism between the affluent rich and the desperately poor through education, and sustainable development. In 2003 she becomes Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, Fisheries, and Competitiveness. In 2006 she was elected to the Andean Parliament, and in 2007 she was elected President of the Andean Parliament by a unanimous vote. In 2009, UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova named Ms. A-Baki as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace. She has been honored by the U.S. House of Representatives, and received awards from the governments of Lebanon, and Ecuador, among others. This year, Ambassador A-Baki was named by Ecuador’s President, Rafael Correa, to lead the Yasuni National Park -ITT negotiations which will protect the Amazon’s most biodiverse area in all of South America.