Rebeca Grynspan Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis
Profession(s)	• Economist • Politician
Known for	Being a prominent Costa Rican economist, diplomat, and international civil servant serving as the first female Secretary-General of UNCTAD, as Vice-President of Costa Rica, and as a leading candidate to become the next UN Secretary-General (2026)
Physical Stats
Eye Colour	Light Blue Hazel
Hair Colour	Medium Copper Blonde
Politics
Political Party	National Liberation Party
Political Journey	• From 1986 to 1988: Served as Costa Rica's Vice-Minister of Finance • In 1994: Becane Costa Rica's second Vice-President • From 1994 to 1998: Served as Coordinating Minister of Social Affairs • From 1995 to 1996: Served as Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs • From 1996 to 1988: Served as Housing Minister of Costa Rica • In 2006: Became UNDP's regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean • In 2010: Became UNDP's Associate Administrator and a UN Under-Secretary General • In 2014: Became Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat • In 2021: Became Secretary-General of the UNCTAD, the first woman to hold the post
Personal Life
Date of Birth	14 December 1955 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2025)	70 Years
Birthplace	San José, Costa Rica
Zodiac sign	Sagittarius
Nationality	Costa Rican
Hometown	San José, Costa Rica
College/University	• University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica • University of Sussex, East Sussex, England
Educational Qualification(s)	• A Bachelor of Science degree with a major in economics from the University of Costa Rica • A Master of Arts degree in economics from the University of Sussex
Religion	Christianity
Social Media	• Instagram • Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	Year, 1978
Family
Husband/Spouse	Saúl Weisleder (Economist, Politician)
Children	Note: She has two children
Parents	Father- Manuel Grynspan Burstin Mother- Sara Mayufis Schapiro

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rebeca Grynspan

• Rebeca Grynspan was born and raised in San José, Costa Rica. Her parents were of Jewish ancestry immigrants from Poland.

• She earned a bachelor’s dregree in economics at the University of Costa and a master’s degree in economics at the University of Sussex, England.

• In her early career, Rebeca Grynspan worked as a professor and researcher at the University of Costa Rica’s Economics Science Research Institute.

• From 1986 to 1988, Rebeca entered the politics and served as Costa Rica’s Voce minister of Finance under President Óscar Arias.

• In 1994, Grynspan became the Second Vice President of Costa Rica under President José María Figueres.

• From 1994 to 1998 as Vice-President of Costa Rica, she also served as Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs and helped coordinate the country’s National Plan to fight Poverty.

• From 1996 to 1998, Rebeca served as Costa Rica’s Minister of Housing.

• In 2001, she became a member of the UN High-level Panel on Financing for Development, created by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

• On 13 September 20o1, Grynspan was appointed as the eighth secretary-general of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. After her appointment she became the first woman to hold this position in the history of the organization.
  

  Rebeca Grynspan as secretary-general of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

• From 2001 to 2006, Grynspan served as Director of the Subregional Headquarters in Mexico of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

• During that time, she also served as Co-Chair of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Executive Board.

• Additionally, she also served as a member of the UN Millennium Project’s Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development.

• In 2010, Rebeca was appointed UN Under-Secretary-General and the Associate Administrator by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She served under the leadership of Helen Clark.

• From 2010 to 2014, at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) she was involved in promoting gender equality and served as chair of its Gender Steering and Implementation Committee.

• From 2010 to 2013, she represented the UN on the temporary commission created to help coordinate the reconstruction of Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

• On 24 February 2014, she was unanimously elected Secretary General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), at a special meeting of the bloc’s foreign minister in Mexico City, where representatives of all 22 members countries supported her.

• From 2014 to 2021 at SEGIB, Rebeca worked on issues including poverty reduction, gender equality, development and cooperation between Latin American and European countries.

• In 2014 and 2015, she was named one of the 50 leading intellectuals in Latin America.

• In 2016, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed her to the lead a group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, to tackle malnutrition in European countries.

• In 2017, Rebeca was awarded with Forbes Excellence Award. In the same year, the Spanish Government awarded her the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise.

• In 2018, her tenure as Secretary General of SEGIB was renewed for another four years.

• In 2021, Grynspan joined the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
  

  Rebeca Grynspan with India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the G20 org Development Ministers’ Meeting in 2023

• In June 2021, she was appointed as the next Secretary-General of the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva and became the first woman to lead the organization in its 60-year history.

• In the same year, she was named as a special international advisor to the Economic and Social Council of Argentina by the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández.

• In 2022, Grynspan played an important role in the UN-backed Black Sea Grain initiatives, which helped Ukraine continue exporting gain through the Black Sea during the Russia-Ukraine war.

• In 2024, for her role in international negotiations, including restoring Black Sea trade routes. she was awarded with Doha Negotiator of the Year Award.

• In 2025, Spain awarded her with the first Isabel Oyarzábal Women in Multilateralism International Prize for her contribution to multilateral cooperation.

• On 8 October 2025, Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves nominated Grynspan as Costa Rica’s candidate for the 2026 United Nations Secretary-General selection upon the end of António Guterres’s tenure.
  

  Rebeca Grynspan with Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves

• In 2026, she took a special leave from UNCTAD from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026 for campaigning for the UN-Secretary-General position.

• In July 2026, in the first informal UN Security Council straw poll for the next Secretary-General, Gryspan received 10 votes marked encourage, 1 marked discourage, and 4 marked no opinion votes, that put her among the strongest candidate.

• If she selected, Rebeca Grynspan would become the first woman to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

• Along with serving at UNCTAD, Grynspan also serving as member of the Program for the Support of Women’s Leadership and Representation (PROLEAD) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),

• She also served as former vice president of the board of directors of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington, D.C.

• For her professional achievements, the University of Extremaduraand and the European University conferred her an honorary doctorate.