Giovinella Gonthier was born in the Seychelles on January 11, 1949. Educated first in the Seychelles and Tanzania, nd then in the United States, Ambassador Gonthier was a 1972 graduate of Wheaton College where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in History and a 1973 graduate of Harvard University where she earned a Master of Arts degree in Teaching.

Ambassador Gonthier served as a diplomat in the United Nations from 1979 to 1987, with concurrent appointments as Ambassador to the United States of America and as Chief of Mission (Permanent Representative of the Republic of Seychelles to the U.N.). At the time of her appointment to the United Nations, she was the youngest chief of mission in the history of the organization, and the only woman in the body. Among her successes as Ambassador was the achievement of a unanimous Security Council resolution condemning apartheid South Africa for its role in aggressing the Seychelles in 1981. She also negotiated for higher rent payments from the Pentagon for their use of facilities in Seychelles.

Following her experience at the United Nations, Ambassador Gonthier served as an executive coach, author, and consultant. Ambassador Gonthier died on May 21, 2012.