Perceval was born in Mendoza, Argentina, to Julio Perceval, a musician and founder of the music department of the National University of Cuyo, and Alejandrina Suárez, the first female organist in Argentina. She graduated with a degree in Philosophy with a special focus on Gender Studies, Epistemology and Human Rights from the UNCuyo. She began a career in academia as a university professor and in public administration, coordinating projects for the provincial governments of Mendoza and Buenos Aires Provinces as well as the Argentine Chamber of Deputies. Perceval was the Project Director of Research on Epistemology, Gender Studies, and Human Rights at UNCuyo from 1988 to 1992; Assistant Professor of the History of Sciences, Philosophy, and Metaphysics at her alma mater between 1990 and 2001; and Professor of Advanced Epistemology at UNCuyo between 1998 and 2001. She founded and served as Director of the Institute of Social Management at the University of Aconcagua, and served as President of the Institute for Women in Mendoza from 1993 to 1995. María Perceval is married and has three children. She authored numerous articles and studies on children's rights and women's rights. Perceval followed her early political mentor, José Bordón, and other left-wing Peronists into the FrePaSo coalition ahead of the 1995 election, but later returned to the Justicialist Party. She was elected to the Senate for Mendoza Province in 2001 and re-elected in 2003, later joining the majority Front for Victory parliamentary caucus. She pursued a greater role for women in Senate committees historically chaired and dominated by men, and in 2007 become chairwoman of the Defense Committee; in that capacity she became known for an unsuccessful effort in 2008 to rescind military courts martial in favor a civil trials, as she believed that courts martial deprive servicemen and women of due process. Senator Perceval also focused on the strengthening of democracy and democratic institutions, as well as promoting civil, political, social, cultural, and economic human rights. Some of the most notable bills she authored include Regulación de la Tenencia de Armas in 2002, and Plan de Desarme in 2006. Perceval also authored bills against violence against women, among them “Prevention and Punishment of Human Trafficking” and “Prevention and Punishment of Violence Against Women”. While Senator she stood as César Biffi's running mate in his unsuccessful 2007 campaign for Governor of Mendoza, a ticket endorsed by outgoing governor and vice-presidential candidate Julio Cobos. A close ally of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Perceval was named Undersecretary for Institutional Reform and Strengthening of Democracy for the Cabinet Chief of Argentina upon the end of her term in the Senate in 2009, and in 2010 was named Under-Secretary for Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Her tenure focused mainly on the promotion and the advancement of human rights for vulnerable communities such as Afro-Argentines, the LGBT community, and migrants; she also worked to advance women and children’s rights and the struggle against human trafficking within the national agenda.
Tenure at United Nations
Following the appointment of UN Representative Jorge Argüello as Ambassador to the United States, Perceval was selected to succeed him in the post in September 2012. Perceval´s appointment as Ambassador to the United Nations was approved unanimously by Congress, and she presented her credentials before UN Secretary GeneralBan Ki-Moon on November 23, 2012. Ambassador Perceval’s mandate as the Head of the Argentine Mission is focused mainly on multilateralism and the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Perceval's appointment coincided with Argentina's election as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2013-2014 term, and was followed by the election of Argentina in August 2013 to preside the Security Council. Perceval is a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reform in the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.
