Anabel González

Anabel González, who has been a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) since October 2018, is on leave for public service as deputy director-general at the World Trade Organization. She is host of the Institute's Trade Winds virtual event series. Previously she was senior director of the World Bank’s Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice (2014–18), where she led the Bank’s agenda on trade, investment climate, competitiveness, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She served as minister of trade of Costa Rica (2010–14), where she headed the strategy to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, negotiated and implemented six free trade agreements, and contributed to attract over 140 foreign direct investment projects. She also had a lead role in Costa Rica's Competitiveness and Innovation Council and was president of the Export Promotion Board. In her more than 15 years of service at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, she held several positions, including ambassador and chief negotiator of the free trade agreement between Central America and the United States (2003–04). She has also worked as director of the Agriculture Division of the World Trade Organization (2006–09); senior consultant on trade and investment, Inter-American Development Bank (2009–10); and director-general, Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (2001–02).

She is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Trade and Investment and has written extensively on trade and investment and presented in over 50 countries around the world.

She holds a master’s degree in international trade law and policy from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Costa Rica.