Raúl Fuentes Milani

Raúl Fuentes Milani
European Union Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
Incumbent
Assumed office
19 November 2025
Preceded byKatja Afheldt
Ambassador-at-large for Global Health
In office
28 May 2025 – 3 September 2025
Preceded byBorja Cabezón Royo
Succeeded byMencía de Silos Manso de Zúñiga Spottorno
Deputy Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union
In office
12 February 2020 – 3 July 2024
Preceded byJuan de Arístegui Laborde
Succeeded byOriol Escalas Nolla
Other posts
European Union Ambassador to Namibia
In office
2010–2015
Preceded byElisabeth Pape
Succeeded byJana Hybášková
Personal details
BornRaúl Santiago Fuentes Milani
(1964-11-28) 28 November 1964
Salamanca, Spain
SpouseBelén Martínez Carbonell
Alma materUniversity of Salamanca

Raúl Fuentes Milani (born 28 November 1964) is a Spanish diplomat serving as ambassador of the European Union to the Dominican Republic since 2025.

Biography

Born in 1964,[1] Fuentes holds a degree in law from the University of Salamanca and joined the diplomatic career in 1991.[2] In his early years, he served as Deputy Director-General for Central and Southern Europe and as Deputy Director-General for General Affairs of the European Union. Abroad, Fuentes has been posted to the Spanish Embassies in Angola—as second chief of mission—, Colombia and Israel and, on several occasions, to the Spanish Representation to the European Union.[2]

As a member of the European External Action Service, he served as European Ambassador to Namibia from 2011 to 2015 and as Head of Division for Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Middle East Peace Process. He also served as Head of the Task Force Latin America and UN, in the Policy Unit of the Council Secretariat. From this post he contributed to the EU-LAC Summit of 2010.[3]

In May 2018, he was appointed Deputy Director-General for Institutional Relations within the Directorate-General for Integration and Coordination of General Affairs of the European Union of the Secretariat of State for the European Union.[4] In this position, he was part of the Brexit negotiating team.[5]

In February 2020, the Council of Ministers appointed him as Deputy Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union.[5] During this period, he assisted Ambassador Marcos Alonso in the coordination of the 2023 Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, chairing COREPER I[3] and coordinating the relations with the European Parliament.[6][7]

In May 2025, he was appointed ambassador-at-large for Global Health, responsible for representing and coordinating Spanish position in global health forums such as the World Health Organization or COVAX, among others.[8] His appointment caused bewilderment in the diplomatic career, since he had already been nominated as European ambassador to the Dominican Republic and could only hold the position until September.[7]

As expected, in September 2025 he left the post after being appointed ambassador of the European Union to the Dominican Republic, presenting his credentials to President Abinader on 19 November 2025.[9][10]

Personal life

He is married to fellow diplomat Belén Martínez Carbonell, current Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS).[6][11]

References

  1. ↑ "Raúl Santiago Fuentes Milani, nuevo representante permanente de España ante la UE | Líder en Información Social | Servimedia". www.servimedia.es (in Spanish). 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  2. 1 2 Secretariat of State for Press (27 May 2025). "Referencia Consejo de Ministros". www.lamoncloa.gob.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  3. 1 2 "About the Ambassador | EEAS". www.eeas.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 30 March 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  4. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (23 May 2018). "Resolución de 11 de mayo de 2018, de la Subsecretaría, por la que se resuelve la convocatoria de libre designación, efectuada por Resolución de 22 de marzo de 2018". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Sánchez incorpora a su gabinete a dos diplomáticas para la política de la UE y los Asuntos Exteriores". www.europapress.es. 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  6. 1 2 Ayllón, Luis (2025-05-22). "Sólo dos españoles entre los nuevos embajadores de la UE". Confidencial Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  7. 1 2 Ayllón, Luis (2025-06-05). "Albares nombra embajador en misión especial a un diplomático que estará tres meses en el cargo". Confidencial Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  8. ↑ "Objetivos clave de la Estrategia de Salud Global 2025-2030: prevención, fortalecimiento y gestión de emergencias". ConSalud (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  9. ↑ Scalella, Sauro (2025-11-19). "Embajadora de EEUU y otros seis diplomáticos entregan cartas credenciales a Abinader". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  10. ↑ Vásquez, Jesús (2025-11-19). "La embajadora de Estados Unidos presentó sus cartas credenciales". Diario Libre (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
  11. ↑ Sánchez, Ana (2025-02-06). "Martínez Carbonell Secretaria general del SEAE". Diario ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
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