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Brazil’s candidate wins IDB Presidency

Last Updated on Sunday, 20 November 2022, 19:24 by Denis Chabrol

President-elect of the Inter-American Development Bank, Ilan Goldfajn

Ilan Goldfajn was elected president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Sunday during a Special Meeting of the Bankā€™s Board of Governors. The meeting was held at IDB Headquarters in Washington, D.C., with delegations attending virtually and in person, the hemispheric bank said in a statement.

Nominated by Brazil, Goldfajn will take office for a five-year term on December 19, 2022. He was nominated before incumbent Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was defeated by leftist Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva in elections held earlier this month.

As president, Goldfajn will manage the operations and administration of the Bank, which works with the public sector of Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, he will chair the Board of Executive Directors of the IDB and the Board of Executive Directors of IDB Invest, which works with the region’s private sector. The president also chairs the Donors Committee of IDB Lab, the Bankā€™s laboratory for innovative development projects.

The other candidates were Cecilia Todesca Bocco of Argentina, Gerard Johnson of Trinidad and Tobago, Gerardo Esquivel HernƔndez of Mexico and NicolƔs Eyzaguirre GuzmƔn of Chile.

To be elected president, a candidate must receive a majority of the total voting power of the IDBā€™s member countries as well as the support of at least 15 of the 28 regional member countries (26 borrowing member countries, plus Canada and the United States). The IDB has a total of 48Ā member countries, with offices in all borrowing countries as well as in Europe and Asia.

TheĀ Board of GovernorsĀ is the Bankā€™s highest authority. Each member country appoints a governor, whoseĀ voting powerĀ is proportional to the capital in the Bank subscribed by his or her country. Governors are typically finance ministers, central bank presidents, or other high-ranking economic authorities.

The Board of Governors holds annual meetings to review Bank operations and make key policy decisions. It also occasionally holds special meetings, including to elect a president.

Goldfajn will be the IDBā€™s seventh president. He follows Reina Irene MejĆ­a ChacĆ³n a.i. (2022); Mauricio Claver-Carone (2020-2022); Luis Alberto Moreno (2005-2020); Enrique V. Iglesias (1988-2005); Antonio Ortiz Mena (1971-1988); and Felipe Herrera (1960-1971).

The then United States (US) Republican-led administration nominee for the Presidency of the IDB Mauricio Claver-Carone,Ā  who had been unequivocally supported by Guyana, was fired in September by a majority vote Ā after an investigation showed the only American president in the bankā€™s 62-year history had an intimate relationship with a subordinate.

The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public- and private-sector clients throughout the region.