Luis Gallegos is the current ambassador of Ecuador to the United States. His career as a government diplomat began in 1966 when he joined the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In subsequent years, he held a variety of positions, including director of the Planning Department and of the Technical Cooperation and External Debt Department, undersecretary for political affairs, and acting minister of foreign affairs. Among other Foreign Service posts, he has been consul general of Ecuador in Chicago; ambassador of Ecuador in El Salvador; permanent representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva; permanent representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in New York; and ambassador of Ecuador to Australia. He is, in a personal capacity, an expert member of the U.N. Committee Against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman Treatments. The Congress of Ecuador has honored Gallegos twice for his work on human rights and for his leadership in the promotion and protection of human rights of persons with disabilities.
At present, Gallegos is also chairman of the Global U.N. Partnership for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies, president of the International Rehabilitation Foundation and honorary chairman of the Global Universal Design Commission. Gallegos has taught at the School of International Relations of the Central University of Quito, at the military academies of the Ecuadorian Army and Air Force, and has spoken at numerous conferences in Ecuador and abroad. He holds a law degree from the Central University of Ecuador. He earned a Master of Arts from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.