María Inés Ruz

María Inés Ruz Zañartu is a Chilean journalist and diplomat who currently serves as the Ambassador of Chile to Colombia. She previously held the same position in El Salvador between 2014 and 2018.

Ruz has also worked as a university lecturer and consultant for the ECLAC and the Latin American Security and Defense Network (RESDAL), and serves as an analyst at the “Observatorio del Sur” of ProyectAmérica.

Biography Ruz holds a degree in journalism from the University of Havana, a Master's in International Studies from the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile, and a diploma in International Economic Relations from the Universidad Mayor and the Ibero-America–Europe University Network.

She served as an international adviser at the Ministry of Defense and as an analyst at the Planning Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was also Executive Secretary of the Interministerial Committee for the Development of Chile's Extreme Zones.

As adviser to the Ministry of Defense, she played an active role in promoting the Chile-Argentina Combined Peace Force “Cruz del Sur,” coordinating Latin American ministries involved in the UN Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH), and drafting the statutes of the South American Defense Council.

Diplomatic career Ruz was appointed as Chile's ambassador to El Salvador in 2014, serving until 2018.

In 2022, she was nominated as Chile's ambassador to Colombia, formally assuming office in February 2023 following Decree No. 315/2022.

During her tenure in Bogotá, she has promoted bilateral cooperation in gender equality, peace, and defense matters, and has represented Chile in forums on feminist foreign policy.