Miguel de Serpa Soares is lawyer and consultant in international law and global affairs. He served as Under Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel in UN Headquarters in New York between 2013 and 2024. During this period he served also as focal point of UN Oceans and between 2013 and 2014 as Secretary-General of the Diplomatic Conference charged with the negotiation and drafting of the Ocean Biodiversity treaty (BBNJ). Prior to his UN positions he was the Legal Adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal (2008/2013) and Legal Counsel of the Permanent Representation of Portugal to the European Union in Brussels. (1999/2008). He co-chaired the drafting committee of the EU Lisbon Treaty and was a member of the drafting committee of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. He has published and lectured extensively worldwide on topics of international relations and law. He completed his studies in the University of Lisbon Law School and the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium.