At 10.00 this morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience H.E. Mr. José Luis Álvarez Palacio, ambassador of Ecuador to the Holy See, for the presentation of his credential letters.

The following is a brief biography of the new ambassador:

H.E. Mr. José Luis Álvarez Palacio

H.E. Mr. José Luis Álvarez Palacio was born in Quito on 25 August 1960. He is married and has four children.

He obtained the Baccalaureate from the Cardenal Spellman Salesian College (1979), then attended the School of Economics and Commerce (INCAE, 1982). Later he obtained a diploma in International Commerce (OEA-Mexico, 1985), a licentiate in Business Administration (Central University of Ecuador, 1985) and a doctorate in Commercial Engineering (Central University of Ecuador, 1989).

He has held the following offices: member of the Ecuadorian Justice and Peace Commission; professor of Economic Geography of the Eloy Alfaro Military School (1986-1987); professor of Finance and Economics at the Faculty of Business Administration of the Pontifical Catholic University in Quito (1989-1992); general manager of INTERDIN S.A., Corporate Group Bank of Pichincha (1989-1993); executive chairman of Finanziaria Promerica & Saint Georges Bank (1989-1993); vice-president of the Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce (1992-1994); director and pro-treasurer of the Quito Chamber of Commerce (1996-1998); founder and director general of the educational multinational company, Wall Street English (1999-2015); director of the national telecommunications company ANDINATEL (2001-2004); regional president of the Young Presidents Organization (2003-2005); member of FRONTCONSULTING-Ecuador (2005-2010); representative of Ecuador at the University of Argentina UADE Enterprises (2010-2014); executive chairman of CIALCO S.A. (from 2014).

He knows French, English, Italian and Spanish.