Originally from Costa Rica, Laura Thompson is a renowned Ambassador with over 30 years of ex perience in diplomacy. In 1994, she joined the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Na tions (UN) and other international organisations in Geneva, marking the first step in a long career in  International Geneva. 13 years later, she became Ambassador for the Permanent Mission. She subse quently was elected as Deputy Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)  from 2009 to 2021.