Virginia Gamba is a well-known Argentine diplomat, academic and expert on international security and disarmament. In 2025, his career gained particular significance with his candidacy for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations for the period 2027–2031. She has held senior positions within the United Nations system: she was Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, a position she held until July 2025. As Director and Deputy High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), she led global arms control and demobilization efforts. She was also head of the Joint Investigative Mechanism (OPCW-UN), from where she led investigations into the use of chemical weapons in Syria. In 1995, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Pugwash Conferences, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on nuclear disarmament.
Gamba is considered an academic authority in studies of the South Atlantic conflict. Studied strategy in the UK on the recommendation of the writer Robert Graves. He returned to Argentina a few days before the Malvinas War. It would be his “baptism of fire” as a specialist in conflict research. She is co-author of Signals of war (Signs of War) with Lawrence Freedman, a reference work on the decision-making process during the 1982 war. Her career in human security issues at the United Nations would face unimaginable challenges on four continents. Their path would lead them to the fight for disarmament and peace in Africa and the Middle East. Also working alongside leaders like Nelson Mandela or risking everything in dark negotiating rooms in front of dangerous leaders of militias, terrorist organizations and armed groups.
In addition to his campaign for the leadership of the United Nations, in which he was shortlisted with another Argentine, Rafael Grossi, Gamba has just published his book On the tightrope: Chronicle of a fight for peace and disarmament (Edhasa), a unique autobiography in which he talks about his career in an intimate tone. In a world where violence shows no sign of abating, there are stories like these that offer new hope. The presentation states: In a scenario of wars, armed conflicts and human rights violations of all kinds, there are people with extraordinary stories who, with courage and dedication, manage to turn seemingly impossible games around.
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