Maritza Chan

Maritza Chan Valverde is a Costa Rican diplomat. She has served as the first female permanent representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations since 2022. She is also the chairwoman of the United Nations Disarmament and International Security Committee since 2024 and served as vice president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Education Chan got a degree in politician science from the University of Costa Rica and a master's degree in Latin American studies from Georgetown University.

Career Chan's first major job was as a senior speechwriter for President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez between 1998 and 2002. She subsequently worked in the United States, where she was a member of the Costa Rican Embassy from 2002 to 2005 and served at the mission to the Organization of American States from 2005 to 2009.

In 2025, she was appointed vice president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and Chan also served as vice president of the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

President of the 79th UN General Assembly Philémon Yang appointed her, alongside Spain's ambassador Héctor Gómez, facilitator of the intergovernmental consultations on the establishment and functioning of the Independent Global Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

She is an expert in disarmament, nonproliferation, and arms control, as well as technology and international peace and security, and has written several articles on these topics.