María Teresa García Segovia de Madero was appointed as Ambassador of Mexico to Canada by President Vicente Fox Quesada on September 26, 2001, taking office on November 7th of that year.

Originally from Monterrey, Nuevo León, María Teresa de Madero has been active in Mexico's political and civic life for nearly three decades. In 1984 she became a member of the National Action Party (PAN), as well as of the PAN's Executive Committee in Nuevo León. In 1985, she was a founding member of the Democratic Electoral Assembly for Effective Suffrage, both in the State of Nuevo León and nationally.

From 1985 to 1988, she acted as a Deputy of the State Congress of Nuevo León. In 1987, together with three other state representatives, she promoted a case before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States, on account of the human rights violation of citizens by the Electoral Law of Nuevo León then in force. In 1991, the Commission decided in favour of the claimants. This international verdict set the necessary legal precedent to later implement important reforms in the electoral laws of Mexico.

In addition to her term as Mayor of San Pedro Garza García from 1997 to 2000, Ambassador García Segovia de Madero has held various positions in the Mexican Public Service. She acted as Secretary of the Municipal Council of San Pedro Garza García from 1994 to 1997, and Municipal Councilwoman of Monterrey from 1991 to 1994.

A large part of her political career was developed within the National Action Party, where she has been a member of the PAN State Council of Nuevo León, the National Council of the PAN, and the PAN's National Executive Committee (CEN). In October of 2001, however, García Segovia took a temporary leave from her position as member of the CEN to carry out her appointment by President Vicente Fox as Ambassador of Mexico to Canada.

With great enthusiasm, Ambassador García Segovia acted as President of the Committee of Wives of Industrial Relations Executives (ERIAC), and has been a member of the Asociación Nacional Cívica Femenina (National Civic Women's Association) since 1978. She is also a member of the Board of the University of Monterrey (UDEM), and lecturer and speaker at over 350 national and international events. In June of 2002, she accepted an invitation to join the Board of the international association Forum of Federations (with headquarters in Ottawa). In 1989, Ambassador García Segovia de Madero received an Honourable Mention for Civic Courage from the civic association Civilización y Libertad in Mexico City.

Ambassador García Segovia de Madero has a B.A. in Spanish Language from the Universidad Labastida in Monterrey, Nuevo León, as well as diplomas in English Language Instruction from Oxford University and Cambridge University (United Kingdom). She has also undertaken studies in Municipal Administration from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) and the World Bank in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Ambassador García Segovia de Madero has taken courses on mediation for conflict resolution at the ITESM's Centro Juristis.

"Tere Madero" - as her friends, family and colleagues know her - has been married for 37 years to Manuel Madero Madero, with whom she has two sons, Manuel and Bernardo, married to Carina de los Santos and Catalina Murillo, respectively. To date, Tere and Manuel have three grandchildren, Bernardo, Lucía and Rodrigo.