Ayalde, Liliana, 1956-

Liliana Ayalde (born March 1956) is a career foreign service official who served in a variety of postings, most notably as the United States Ambassador to Paraguay (2008-2011) and Brazil (2013-2017). In addition to her ambassadorships, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for the United States State Department with responsibility for the Offices of Caribbean Affairs, Central American Affairs and Cuban Affairs as well as in various positions with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Since January 2017 she has been serving as the Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Foreign Policy Advisor for the United States Southern Command.

A native of Maryland, Ayalde earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the School of International Studies at American University in Washington, D.C. and a Master of Public Health from Tulane University in Louisiana. She first joined the Foreign Service in 1982 and started her international career in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister having been posted in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Colombia, and Washington, D.C. with USAID. Immediately prior to the DAS assignment she was the Senior Assistant Administrator for the Latin American and Caribbean Bureau for USAID, coordinating important development assistance programs in Haiti, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Over the course of her diplomatic service, Ayalde received numerous honors and awards. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and has a working knowledge of French.