Manuel Muñiz is the Rector of IE University and a Professor of Practice of International Relations. As Rector, he leads the formulation and implementation of the institution’s strategic vision, strengthens IE’s research ecosystem, and oversees its international expansion, including the development of global academic and corporate partnerships. He also serves as Chair of the Board of IE New York College, a U.S. higher education institution located in Manhattan and a cornerstone of IE’s global university project.
From 2017 to 2025, Dr. Muñiz served as Dean of IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs, where he enhanced the school’s research and teaching capabilities in public policy, international political economy, and international relations, consolidating IE’s reputation as an academic leader in these fields.
In 2023, he was elected President of APSIA, the association that brings together the world’s leading schools of diplomacy and public policy, becoming the first Spaniard to hold this position. That same year, he was appointed Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.
Between 2020 and 2021, he served as Secretary of State for Global Spain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, where he led the areas of Strategic Foresight, Economic Diplomacy, and Communications, and coordinated the drafting of the 2021–2024 Foreign Action Strategy. He also oversaw the development of the National Strategy on Technology and Global Order, which laid the foundations of Spain’s technology diplomacy. In addition, he was responsible for Spain’s 2020 presidency of the OECD.
Prior to his time in government, Dr. Muñiz worked at Harvard University, where he directed (2015–2017) the Transatlantic Relations Program and later served as Senior Associate and co-founder of the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (2017–2020).
Dr. Muñiz holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid; a Master’s in Financial Markets from the IEB; a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; and a DPhil (PhD) in International Relations from the University of Oxford.
His work has been recognized with numerous awards and fellowships, including the Grand Cross of the Spanish Order of Civil Merit, the David Rockefeller Fellowship of the Trilateral Commission, the Munich Young Leader Fellowship of the Körber Stiftung, the Millennium Fellowship of the Atlantic Council, and the Eisenhower Fellowship.
He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Club de Madrid, a Trustee of the Ortega-Marañón Foundation, a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and a full member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors.
CORPORATE EXPERIENCE
• State Secretary for Global Spain (Vice-Minister), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Spain, 2020 – 2021
• Co-Founder & President, Silmaril Technologies, Spain, 2023 – Present
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
• Rector of IE University · Professor of Practice of International Relations, 2025 – Present
• Provost, IE University, Spain, 2021 – 2025
• Chair of the Board of Trustees, IE New York College, US, 2024 – Present
• Dean, IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs, Spain, 2021 – 2024
• Co-Chair & Founder, IE Center for the Governance of Change, Spain, 2021 – Present
• Head, IE School of Humanities, Spain, 2021 – 2024
• President, Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, 2023 – 2024
• Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution, US, 2023
• Fellow (formerly Senior Associate), Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, US, 2017 – 2020
• Director, Program on Transatlantic Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, US, 2015 – 2017
• Director, Program on Global Leadership, Rafael del Pino Foundation, Spain, 2014 – 2020
• Lecturer, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy & Institute for Global Leadership, Tufts University, US, 2016 – 2017
• Teaching Fellow, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK, 2013 – 2015
• Research Fellow, Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI), SciencesPo, France, 2012 – 2014
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
• Global Executive Leadership Program, Yale University, US, 2024
• DPhil (PhD) in International Relations, Oxford University, UK, 2017
• Master in Public Administration, Harvard University, US, 2011
• Masters of Science (MSc) in Financial Markets, IEB, Spain, 2009
• JD (Law), Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain, 2004
