José Ángel Gurría Treviño, also known as Ángel Gurría, (born 8 May 1950) is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and diplomat. From 1 June 2006 to 31 May 2021, he was the secretary-general of the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(OECD).

Early life and education

Born in

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, Gurría graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

(UNAM) and undertook postgraduate studies at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Besides his native

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, Gurría speaks French,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Career

Early career

Gurría served in the financial area of Mexico’s

Federal Electricity Commission Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

(CFE), National Development Bank (Nafinsa), Rural Development Fund, and the Office of the

Mayor of Mexico City The Head of Government ( es, Jefe de Gobierno) wields the executive power in Mexico City. The Head of Government serves a six-year term, running concurrently with that of the President of the Republic. Mexico City, or CDMX, is the seat of natio ...

from 1968 to 1976. From 1976 to 1978, Gurría served as Mexico’s Permanent Representative to the

International Coffee Organization The International Coffee Organization (ICO) was set up in 1963 in London, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) due to the economic importance of coffee. It administers the International Coffee Agreement (ICA), an important instrument for ...

(IFO), based in London. In the 1980, Gurría was Mexico's lead negotiator on restructuring its foreign debt. Gurría served as President and CEO of the Foreign Trade Bank (Bancomext) from 1992 until 1993.

Career in Mexican politics

Gurría served as the

Secretary of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

(1994–1997) in the

Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was 61st president of Mexico from 1 December 1994 to 30 November 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from t ...

administration. In this capacity, he also negotiated the

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...

(NAFTA) and requested financial aid during the 1994 crisis. Also, he opposed the Helms-Burton Act. As

Secretary of Finance The Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit ( es, Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, SHCP) is the finance ministry of Mexico. The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the department, and is a member of the federal executive ...

(1998–2000), Gurría oversaw the initial years of Mexico's membership in the OECD and chaired the organization's ministerial council in 1999. Gurría is widely seen as the architect of the Mexican economic stabilization, partially by cutting government spending six times during the Zedillo administration. The effect of his work has been felt during the administration of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...

who nominated him to lead the OECD in July 2005.. After leaving government office, Gurría taught International Relations and Financial Economics at the

Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) ( en, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education), also known as Tecnológico de Monterrey or just Tec, is a secular and coeducational private university based in ...

(ITESM). From 2003 to 2005 he chaired the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

's External Advisory Group.

Secretary-General of OECD

In 2005, Gurría emerged at the head of a crowded field of candidates, including former Polish

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Marek Belka Marek Marian Belka (; born 9 January 1952 in Lódź) is a Polish professor of economics and politician who has served as Prime Minister of Poland and Finance Minister of Poland in two governments. He is a former Director of the International Mo ...

, to succeed Donald Johnston of Canada as the OECD secretary general. In the process, he underwent about 150 interviews in all member countries over the several months to win the backing of governments and OECD officials. During his initial two terms, countries such as

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

joined the organization. On 26 May 2015, the 34 member countries of the OECD decided to renew Gurría's mandate for the period 2016–2021. Since 2010, Gurría has been also serving as a Commissioner for the

Broadband Commission for Digital Development The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (until 2015: Digital Development) was established in May 2010 as a joint initiative by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural ...

which leverages broadband technologies as a key enabler for social and economic development. He also belonged to the United Nations Secretary General’s Global Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, chaired by former

Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politic ...

of Japan.

Other activities

* OECD/UNDP Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), Co-Chair of the Governing Board (since 2015) *

Bocconi University Bocconi University ( it, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, ) is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and computer sci ...

, Member of the International Advisory Council *

, Member of the Advisory Board on Financing the Private Sector in Latin America * Inter-American Dialogue, Member * Reimagine Europa, Member of the Advisory Board *

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

(WEF), Member of the Board of Trustees *

(WEF), Member of the Global Agenda Council on Water Security (2012-2014)

Recognition

Gurría is a recipient of many

honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

, from the Universidad de Valle de México, Rey Juan Carlos University, European Universities of Leeds, Haifa, and Bratislava. Gurría has also received several awards and decorations from more than 30 countries, including the titles of ''Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur'' and ''chevalier dans l'ordre du Mérite agricole'', awarded by the French Government. He has also received a Medal from the French Senate and the ''Ridder Grootkruis in de Orde van Orange-Naussau'' awarded by the Netherlands. Most recently, he was distinguished by the President of Korea with the ''Gwandwha'' Medal for Diplomatic Service, and also received recognition to his longstanding contribution to the development of public administration in Mexico, the ''Medalla al Mérito Administrativo Internacional'' ''Gustavo Martínez Cabañas'', awarded by the ''Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública'' (INAP). In 2007, Gurría was the first recipient of the Globalist of the Year Award of the Canadian International Council to honour his effort as a global citizen to promote trans-nationalism, inclusiveness and a global consciousness. His award include the Ben Gurion Leadership Award, the Award Isidro Fabela by the Mexican Association of International Studies, The ''Nueva Economía'' Award, the ''Orden Bernardo O'Higgins en el Grado de Gran Cruz'', and the ''Medalla Rectorial'' from the University of Chile. In addition, Gurría has received the following acknowledgments: * Grand Cross of the

Order of Boyaca Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 2021 (Colombia) * Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

, 2015 (Netherlands) *

Grand Officier de la légion d'honneur Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

(France) * Chevalier du Mérite Agricole, (France) * The Order of Diplomatic Service Merit (Gwanghwa Medal - South Korea) *

Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay The Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is a distinction of Uruguay created by Law No. 16300 and awarded by the Presidency of the Republic at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to foreign personalities, by reason of the princip ...

(Uruguay)

Personal life

Gurría is married to

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

Lulu Quintana de Gurría, who runs an eye hospital for the poor in Mexico City.James Kanter (30 November 2005)
Mexican plans to raise OECD's low profile
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. They have three children.

References

External links

Mexican Council for Economic and Social Development
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurria, Jose Angel 1950 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds Harvard University alumni Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Members of the Inter-American Dialogue Mexican economists Mexican Secretaries of Finance Mexican Secretaries of Foreign Affairs National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni OECD officials People from Tampico, Tamaulipas Politicians from Tamaulipas Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay 20th-century Mexican politicians