Manuel Tovar Rivera is the Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, and President of the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER). 

Prior to his appointment as Minister of Foreign Trade, Mr. Tovar served as Representative and Head of the Costa Rican Delegation to the OECD from 2016 to 2021, and from 2013 to 2015 he was the Special Envoy to the OECD. Prior to these positions, he served as Trade Attaché at the Embassy of Costa Rica to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Special Envoy at the Costa Rican Mission to the European Union  from 2008 to 2013. In 2005, he was appointed Trade Negotiator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For three years, he was responsible for dispute resolution and institutional matters, and commercial relations with Canada and Chile. Mr. Tovar was also Delegate of Costa Rica to the World Customs Organization and to the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg. 

Mr. Tovar holds a Juris Doctor from the Autonomous University of Central America, a master’s degree in International Law and International Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid and a postgraduate degree in Administrative Law from the University of Salamanca. Mr. Tovar completed professional courses from Harvard University and the London School of Economics and Political Science and is PhD Candidate in Political Science. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Italian.