María Lledó Laredo has been Secretary General for the European Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

A career diplomat, she has extensive experience in the Spanish delegations in London, Rabat, Algiers and Bogota. Likewise, she has been Director General of the Directorate-General for Internal Market and other Community Policies, and Deputy Director General of Cultural Promotion Abroad in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. In the Spanish Representation to the EU, she has held the positions of Deputy Permanent Representative to the Political and Security Committee and Advisor for Parliamentary Affairs.

At the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, she has been Head of the Consular Action Service in the Directorate General of Legal and Consular Affairs, and Head of the Coordination and Cooperation Service in the Directorate General of Political Affairs and for the United Nations. She was also an Advisor in the Cabinet of the Minister, and Director of the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for International Cooperation.

She holds a Degree in Economics from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and a Degree in Political Science from the National Distance Education University (UNED). She entered the diplomatic career in 1999.