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Ambassador Martha I. Lara is a prominent Mexican career diplomat and politician.

Elected Federal Senator for the State of Chihuahua, she served her full term from 1994 to 2000. At the Senate, she presided over said body for the first period of ordinary sessions in 1995, and was Vice President of the Latin American Parliament from 1996 to 2000.

From 1994 to 2000, during her six-year Senate mandate, Ambassador Lara was Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Global Commission and member of the Migration, Human Rights and Northern Border Affairs Commissions. From 1998 to 2000, she chaired the important Foreign Affairs Second Commission for North America.

She had an active role in the U.S.-Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Meetings since 1997, presiding the meeting held in Savannah, Georgia and co-presiding the meetings held in the States of Puebla and Michoacan, Mexico. She participated in the World Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in El Cairo, Egypt; in the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting of the European Union-Latin America in Caracas, Venezuela; and in the APEC Inter-Parliamentary Forum in Lima, Peru.

Within the government of the State of Chihuahua, she was both Secretary of State and Lieutenant Governor from 1986 to 1992, holding the position of Governor Pro Tempore (Interim Governor) during 1991, being the first female governor in that state's history. She also served as Chair of the Censor Committee for Public Works Proposals, Alternate President of the Population State Board, President of the Editorial Board of the Department of Labor and Social Services, President of the State Program Against Cholera, Coordinator of the State Program for Political Commitment and Chair of the State Commission for the Transition of Power.

Within the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she has held different posts since 1971: in the Department of Economic Affairs, the Under Secretariat of Foreign Relations and the General Directorates of the United Nations, Specialized Organizations and International Organizations. She also held the position of Deputy Mexican Representative before the Women’s Inter-American Commission of the Organization of American States, in Washington, D.C.

Her diplomatic experience abroad includes posts as Consul of Mexico in Laredo, Houston, and El Paso, Texas; she has also headed the General Consulates in Seattle, Washington; Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California; and San Antonio, Texas.

Ambassador Lara is a member of the Editorial Board of the Chihuahua Herald and author of the book "Chihuahua: Una Experiencia" (Chihuahua: An Experience). She is married to Pedro Sarkis, first cousin to the late lebanese President Elias Sarkis, and is mother of Humberto and Patricia (deceased).

UCLA School of Public Affairs Senior Fellow