United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Pablo Salazar Canelos of Ecuador as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Costa Rica, with the host Government's approval. He took up his post on 1 March.

Mr. Salazar has more than 20 years of experience in international development, population and development, census and statistics, public policy and demographic analysis. He most recently served as the Country Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Bolivia, where he leads an interdisciplinary team supporting efforts to eradicate maternal mortality, address unmet needs for family planning, prevent gender-based violence and strengthen the use of population data to ensure that no one is left behind. Before this assignment, he served as UNFPA Representative in Guatemala, Regional Technical Adviser on Population and Development at UNFPA Panama and worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Honduras.

Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Salazar held senior governmental positions in Ecuador across the Ministries of Finance, Social Welfare, the Social Cabinet, Transport and Public Works and Planning. He was also a Professor at the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Ecuador and the National Autonomous University of Honduras.

He holds a Master of Science degree in public sector economics from the University of York in the United Kingdom, along with studies in Environmental Economics from FLACSO Ecuador, and an undergraduate degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.

Mr. Salazar is married and has four children.