The Director of the Agency is responsible for its management and routine operations. H/She is appointed and dismissed by the Governing Council, at the proposal of the Presidency of the AECI.
H/She is responsible for the following functions:

• Preparing the draft management contract and presenting it to the Governing Council
• Drafting the Agency’s annual and multi-annual goals and action plans
• Preparing the Agency’s preliminary budget
• Controlling expenditure and payments
• Staff and services management at the Agency
• The legal representation of the Agency
• Presenting to the Governing Council the general report and annual accounts for the previous year, together with the audit report.

Juan López–Dóriga Pérez

Juan López-Dóriga Pérez was born in Zaragoza (Spain) in 1959. After graduating with a degree in law, he joined the diplomatic service in 1986. He was Minister Counsellor at the Spanish Embassy in Costa Rica from 1995 to 1999, and was subsequently appointed Executive Advisor in the Office of the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Iberoamerica (1999-2001), following which he became Director-General for Cooperation with Iberoamerica at the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (2001-2004). After four years as Spanish Ambassador to Guatemala (2004-2008), he was named Director-General for Development Policy Planning and Evaluation (DGPOLDE) at the Secretariat of State for International Cooperation.