Is the 3rd Director General of UNIDO; the first Argentinean and the youngest person in UN history to win an international election to lead one of its Specialized Agencies (1997-2001).

Through a deep reform he restored the credibility of UNIDO, which increased its budget by 60%. He was re-elected (2001-2005), managing a total budget of US$1.4 billion.

He focused on strengthening the supply of Global Public Goods such as; a) productive, trade and environmental capacity building for poverty reduction b) public-private partnerships to create employment (with Ericsson, Fiat, etc.) and; c) capabilities for post-conflict economic reconstruction (in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, etc)

Recognizing his work, the 7^th SG, Kofi Annan, proposed him to the UN Chief Executives Board on Coordination (CEB) as 1^st Chairman of the High Level Committee on Programs (HLCP). His colleagues endorsed him.

Prior to his arrival (1996) UNIDO was in crisis. The Commission on Global Governance recommended its merger with UNCTAD. Several countries withdrew and others evaluated doing so.

Magariños´ “big-bang” style reform changed such trend recruiting new Member States. External auditors and independent evaluations recognized its results (Multilateral Effectiveness Framework – UK DFID 2005, p 11).