Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner Rodríguez was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1953 and served as a Spanish diplomat from 1979 to 2024.
He graduated in law from the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid and in international relations from the Diplomatic School in Madrid. He began his career in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1981. After five years as Counsellor at Spain’s Embassy to the Federal Republic of Germany, Díez-Hochleitner joined the Secretariat of State for European Affairs, where he held several positions until his appointment as Director General for EU Technical Coordination of the Spanish Administration.
Díez-Hochleitner has served as Ambassador of Spain to the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Austria, the OECD and the Kingdom of Morocco.
From 1995 to 1996 he was Director General of the International Department at the Cabinet of the Spanish Prime Minister. From 2000 to 2002 he served as Director General of Foreign Policy for Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 2002 and 2011 he was Secretary General of the Royal Household of His Majesty the King of Spain, with the rank of Secretary of State.
Díez-Hochleitner holds several foreign and Spanish honours, including the Grand Crosses of Carlos III, of Civil Merit, of Military Merit, of Naval Merit and of the Canary Islands.
Since 2024, he has been serving as Secretary General of INCIPE, a Spanish think tank on foreign policy and international relations. He is also a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts based in Salzburg and sits on the board of trustees of the United World Colleges Foundation in Spain and the Foundation of the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean based in Seville. Díez-Hochleitner is Vice-President of Técnicas Reunidas International and Vice-President of the Spanish Chapter of the Club of Rome.