Not quite a Latin lover, but all he needs are the economic development numbers divine.
Enrique Valentín Iglesias García is the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, an international institution dedicated to furthering economic development in the Western Hemisphere through investment and policy formulation.
Iglesias was born in Asturias, Spain, in 1931 to Manuel Iglesias and Isabel García. His parents emigrated to Uruguay in 1934 and Enrique was naturalized as an Uruguayan citizen. By university, he established an interest in government and economics--in 1953, he graduated from the Universidad de la República in Uruguay with a degree in Economics and Business Administration. After graduation, he went on to private-sector banking, which led to a long term as the president of Uruguay's Central Bank. Iglesias held a variety of influent posts before being elected to his current position in 1988.
During Iglesias's first and second terms as president, the IDB concluded negotiations for its Seventh (1989) and Eighth (1994) General Increase in Resources. Respectively, these negotiations increased the Bank's ordinary capital by US$26.5 billion and $101 billion.
Iglesias has been a strong proponent of open markets and multilateralism, with a strong interest in energy reform. Perhaps because of this last point, the IDB has participated in a variety of projects focused on harnessing as-yet untouched energy sources, most notably the major natural gas project currently underway in Camisea, Peru. Under Iglesias' tenure, the IDB has received criticism about its funding of the project, which detractors see as environmentally harmful or in violation of the rights of indigenous peoples. The IDB has even been accused of facilitating the genocide of indigenous peoples by lending money to an unscrupulous Argentine-lead consortium. In a report recently leaked by U.S. Amazon lobby group Amazon Watch, Peru's Ministry of Health found that "22 indigenous people died after exposure to respiratory illnesses from gas pipeline workers and 30% of the 500-strong Nanti tribe has died since 1995". The subject is especially delicate since many of the indigenous people in question have little contact with the developed world and do not possess the antibodies for contagious diseases brought by outsiders. The IDB met in Lima, Peru the week of March 29, 2004 to discuss this and other problems.
Honorary Degrees:
Prizes:
- Prince of Asturias Prize, Spain
- Favorite Son of Asturias, Spain
- Favorite Son of Oviedo, Spain
- Order of Rio Branco, Brazil
- Grand Cross, Brazil
- Grand Cross Silver, Council of the National Order of Juan Mora Fernández, Costa Rica
- Order of the Legion of Honor, France
- Grand Cross of Isabel the Catholic, Spain
- Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished Public Service in Latin America, Notre Dame University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- 1999: Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, France
- 2000: International Order of Merit, City of New Orleans, LA, USA
Professional Chronology
Published works:
Iglesias has published quite a few articles and papers. His books include:
Sources:
http://www.iadb.org/aboutus/iv/ma_EVI.cfm?language=English
Amazon Alliance, 29 March 2004