Federico Mayor Zaragoza

Director-General of UNESCO from 1987 until 1999, he is currently President of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace. With a doctorate in pharmaceutical studies and after occupying the Chair in Biochemistry at the University of Granada, he soon began to accept different political responsibilities, including his nomination as Spanish Minister of Education and Science (1981-1982) and as a Member of the European Parliament (1987). In 1978 he was appointed Deputy Director-General of UNESCO and took over as Director-General in 1987. In this post he was engaged with projects for the promotion of peace, human rights and dialogue among cultures. In 1999 he established the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, through which he has continued to work towards the goals he set as head of UNESCO. He is President of the Academy of Latinity.