José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs was appointed Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 1 September 2022 and took office on 3 October of the same year. 

Having joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2005 as Executive Director of its Employment Sector, he later served as Assistant Director General for Policy (2013–2015) and as Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean (2015–2018). Prior to joining ILO, he was the Director of the Trade Unit of the Organization of American States (1998–2005). Mr. Salazar-Xirinachs was also Minister for Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (1997–1998), Executive President of the Costa Rican Development Corporation (1988–1990) and Chief Economist and then Executive Director of private sector think tank Federación de Entidades Privadas de Centroamérica, Panamá y República Dominicana (FEDEPRICAP) (1990–1996).  

In the academic sphere, he is the author of numerous publications on policy in development, trade, productive transformation, competitiveness and employment. He has taught at the University of Costa Rica, the National University of Heredia (Costa Rica), Cambridge University and Georgetown University.

Mr. Salazar-Xirinachs holds a master’s degree in Development Economics and a doctorate in Economics from Cambridge University and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Costa Rica.