Heraldo Muñoz is the assistant secretary-general and assistant administrator and director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. Previous to this appointment, Mr. Muñoz served as ambassador-permanent representative of Chile to the United Nations from 2003 to 2010. He was the chairman of the UN Peace-Building Commission, facilitator of the UN Security Council Reform Consultations from 2007 to 2008, and president of the UN Security Council in 2004. Mr. Muñoz was an active participant in the dissident movement against the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1989), serving as a leading member of the Socialist Party. He was also co-founder of the Party for Democracy and a member of the Executive Committee of the NO Campaign that defeated General Pinochet in a 1988 plebiscite. He has written and edited over a dozen books on Inter American relations and security, Latin American foreign relations, democracy and human rights, multilateral affairs, development issues, and international political economy. Mr. Muñoz holds a PhD in International Studies from the Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver. He also holds a Diploma in International Relations from The Catholic University of Chile, and a B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Oswego.