Ambassador to France, concurrent to Monaco, Portugal and Algeria since August 2016.
Since August 2014 she lived as Ambassador in Vienna (Austria) and concurrent concurrent credited as Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Vienna and Ambassador to Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Career
From 1992 to 1994 she was El Salvador's permanent delegate to the UNESCO and fully supported Federico Mayor, Director General of the UNESCO.
In 1993 she has been a champion of the Culture of Peace, organizing among other things the first International Forum on Culture of Peace in San Salvador.
From April 20, 1994 to March 27, 1995 she was Ambassadrice to Paris (France) and concurrently to Lisbon (Portugal), continuing as Permanet Delegate of El Salvador to UNESCO.
From March 27, 1995 to 1996 she served as the Executive Director of the Fundación para la Paz FUNDAPAZ (Salvadoran Foundation for Peace), an NGO formed after the Chapultepec Peace Accords brought to an end the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War in 1992.
From 1997 to 2006 she served as Coordinator for International Cooperation for El Salvador's Supreme Court.
From 2004 to May 2010 she was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City and was the first woman to be appointed to that position.
She also served as Vice-Chairperson of the UN's newly created Peacebuilding Commission and was formerly the Chairperson of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
For the period January to December 2005 she served as the Chairperson of the United Nations Development Programme .
From May 2012 to August 2014 she was elected to the Municipal council of San Salvador.
From September 2014 through July 2016, Ms Gallardo was the Ambassador of El Salvador to the UN in Vienna, Ambassador to Austria and concurrent to Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Since August 2016, Ambassador Gallardo has been serving as Ambassador to France, concurrent witn Monaco, Portugal and Algeria. She currently lives in Paris, and this is the second time she has been apppointed as Ambassador to France.
Ambassador Gallardo has received numerous accolades over the years including being named professional of the year by the El Salvador Bar Association in 1997 and a “Doctor Honoris Causa” in international relations from El Salvador’s Technological University in 1998. The Ambassador has a master's degree in Parliamentary Interpretation from the University of Geneva and a bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.
In 2007 she has been invited to become a member of the Core Group of the International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy . The International Taks Force is a multi-year project composed of two structures: A regionally and institutionally balanced Task Force Core Group of 17 experts known for their engagement in preventive diplomacy/conflict prevention; and a High Level Advisory Board of 6 eminent persons, who will support the work of the Task Force Core Group by lending their advice, public outreach, moral standing, and access to media and decision makers.
Personal
Born on 28 November 1949 in San Salvador, Ambassador Gallardo Hernández is married to F. Xavier Hernández, an international executive, and has two children and five grandchildren.
