Cristina Funes-Noppen, born in
Como,
Italy. Her father, Hermann Noppen, was a diplomat and her mother,
Maria Noppen De Matteis, was an artist. Funes-Noppen attended
Georgetown University from 1964 to 1966, where she studied interpretation and foreign management. Later, she studied
Indian culture in 1967 at
Jamia Millia College in
New Delhi. She also studied political and diplomatic sciences between 1967 and 1971 at the
Université libre de Bruxelles. She wrote her thesis on the Mau Mau movement with Professor Kipkorir of the
University of Nairobi. ==Career==