Oscar Avalle is the World Bank Representative for El Salvador and Costa Rica. Of Argentine nationality, he has extensive experience in Latin America, in countries such as Guatemala and Bolivia where he held the same position he assumes. He was also the World Bank Special Representative of the United Nations in New York, Operations Manager for Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela; and Special Assistant to the World Bank’s Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean Region.

He worked at the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the financial mechanism that assists developing countries in responding to global environmental challenges. Before his current position, he was Manager for the Policy and Operations Unit of the World Bank Corporate Secretariat in Washington DC.

Before joining the World Bank, Mr. Avalle was an Argentine career diplomat representing his country from 1991 to 1996 in New York in the United Nations negotiations related to sustainable development and humanitarian affairs. Among others, he served with the Argentine delegation to Rio, UNCED, to the Climate Change Convention and the Biodiversity Convention.

Mr. Avalle earned an MBA from Georgetown University and a master’s Degree in Political Science, Diplomacy and International Relations from the Catholic University of Argentina and the Foreign Service Institute of the Argentine Foreign Ministry. He taught at several Universities in the US and abroad and has contributed to books and articles on United Nations Reform and sustainable development.