Ambassador Barco, who most recently served as the Colombian minister of foreign affairs (2002-06), has a long career in the public sector, including postings as director of the City Planning Department in Bogotá and adviser to the ministries of Development, Culture and Environment, as well as to the National Planning Department and the Office of the Mayor of Bogotá. Ambassador Barco also worked as an international cooperation adviser to the U.N. Development Program, as a researcher at Universidad de los Andes, and as a member of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s Board of Directors.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in social and economic sciences and a master’s degree in business administration and urban and regional planning.