At 10.00 this morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience H.E. Ms. Esther Margarita Carballo Madrigal, ambassador of Nicaragua to the Holy See, on the occasion of the presentation of her letters of credence.

The following is a brief biography of the new ambassador:

H.E. Ms Esther Margarita Carballo Madrigal
Ambassador of Nicaragua to the Holy See

H.E. Ms Esther Margarita Carballo Madrigal was born in Catarina on 30 January 1954. She is married with two daughters.

She graduated in educational sciences with a specialization in biology, natural sciences and chemistry from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua. She subsequently specialized in university teaching (Universidad de San Carlos) and holds a Master’s degree in research methodology and higher education evaluation from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.

She has held the following roles: teacher of primary education at the San Juan de Oriente School (1975-1979); lecturer in biological sciences at the Héroes y Mártires de Masatepe Institute (1980-1984); methodological consultant at the Department of Methodological Teaching of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences UNAN-Managua (1984-1986); head of the department of Registration and Statistics of the Higher Institute of Agricultural Sciences at the National Agricultural University (1987-1993); professor of biological sciences at the Faculty of Distance Education (1988-1989); secretary general of the National Agricultural University (1993-1997); member of the Curriculum Teaching and Development Area at the National Agricultural University (1997-1998); academic secretary of the Faculty of Natural Resources and the Environment at the National Agricultural University (1998-2002); dean of the Faculty of Natural Resources and the Environment (FARENA) (2002-2009); and secretary general of the National Council of Universities (2006-2013).