Biography

Dra. Diana Salazar Méndez

Diana Salazar Méndez is an Afro-Ecuadorian woman born in Ibarra (Imbabura), in June 1981. She has a degree in Political and Social Sciences from the Central University of Ecuador; doctor in Jurisprudence, Political and Social Sciences, and lawyer of the Courts of the Republic, from the same University; and a master's degree in Procedural Law with a mention in Criminal Law, from the Indo-America Technological University.

She has several specializations, among them in Human Rights, with a mention in Mechanisms for the Protection of Afro-descendant People, from the Simón Bolívar Andean University, Ecuador headquarters; and, Economic Criminal Law and Organized Crime, from the Castilla La Mancha University, Spain. Additionally, she has carried out countless courses, seminars, workshops and similar, in Ecuador and other countries, for technical updating in criminal matters.

Her career in the State Attorney General’s Office began in 2001, holding various functions: assistant, secretary, fiscal agent and national coordinator in areas such as: quick solutions, transnational organized crime, gender violence, money laundering, transparency and the fight against corruption. Positions and responsibilities that have helped her get to know the Institution in its real complexity, as well as those who make it up.

In 2018, she was appointed general director of the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE), a position she held until her inauguration as Attorney General of the State, on April 8, 2019 before the Plenary Session of the National Assembly, functions she holds to this day.

In November 2019, she was appointed arbitrator of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (Kingdom of the Netherlands).

In 2021, he received the ‘International Anticorruption Champions Award’, in recognition of ‘people who have worked tirelessly, usually in the face of many adversities, to defend transparency, combat corruption and ensure accountability in their countries’, awarded by the Department of State of the United States of America. This recognition is added to 27 others, including institutional, national and international, received for their professional career and fight against corruption.

It has more than a dozen specialized technical publications, which have circulated in academic journals from different institutions in Ecuador. Likewise, she has chaired and participated in several national, regional and international events on criminal matters, organized by entities such as: United Nations Organization (UN), Organization of American States (OAS), Mercosur, University of Granada, Falcone Borsellino Program, World Bank, among others.