MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Moreno re-elected president of the Inter American Development Bank

The re-elected president steered the bank through the worst global crisis in decades

Luis Alberto Moreno was re-elected president of the Inter-American Development Bank today during a special meeting of the IDB Board of Governors at the Bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Moreno, a former minister and Colombian ambassador to the United States, will begin a new five-year term on October 1, 2010. As President of the Bank, he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and Chairman of the Donors’ Committee of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).

To be elected president, a candidate must receive votes from IDB member countries representing a majority of total voting power, as well as an absolute majority of the governors of the 28 regional members (the 26 borrowing member countries, plus Canada and the United States). The IDB has a total of 48 member countries.

The Bank supports efforts by Latin America and the Caribbean countries to reduce poverty and inequality, and seeks to bring about development in a sustainable, climate-friendly way. Established in 1959, the IDB is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, and it is committed to achieving measurable results with integrity, transparency and accountability.

The Board of Governors is the highest authority of the Bank, made up of one representative for each member country, generally finance ministers, central bank governors and other high-ranking officials. The Governors hold annual meetings to review Bank operations and make key policy decisions. They also hold special meetings under certain circumstances, such as the election of a president.

During his first term, Moreno oversaw a program to provide debt relief to the IDB most vulnerable members, promoted more private sector lending, undertook a major restructuring to make the IDB more responsive to the region’s needs and launched initiatives in the areas of climate change, renewable energy and water and sanitation.

Under his leadership, the IDB negotiated the largest capital increase in its history and made more resources available for Haiti’s reconstruction. The Bank also sharply increased its lending in the face of the global financial crisis.

Moreno is the fourth president of the IDB. His predecessors were Felipe Herrera of Chile, who served from 1960 to 1971; Antonio Ortiz Mena of Mexico (1971 to 1987); and Enrique V. Iglesias of Uruguay (1988 to 2005).