Manuel Francisco Ayau Cordón (December 27, 1925 – August 4, 2010) was the founder of the

Universidad Francisco Marroquín Francisco Marroquín University (Spanish: ''Universidad Francisco Marroquín''), also known by the abbreviation UFM, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It describes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical, ...

in Guatemala. He was born in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

, on December 27, 1925. After diverse studies, he obtained a B.S. in mechanical engineering from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

in 1950, an L.H.D. from

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

in 1973, and an honorary degree in law (

Legum Doctor Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

) from

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood University opened as North ...

in 1994.

Scholarly and laboral contributions

Ayau is CEO of Samboro, S.A., a company dedicated to the production of ceramic tiles, and directed a group of

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n industrialists for over forty years in the production of industrial gases and hydro-electric energy. Ayau has also served on the board of directors of several different companies, including IBM in Latin America and the Guatemalan local stock and debt exchange, of which he was founding president. In 1959 Ayau founded the Center for Economic and Social Studies in Guatemala, to analyze the fundaments and philosophy of free society. In 1972 he was instrumental in founding the

Francisco Marroquín University Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

, of which he was the first president, serving until 1988. A member of the

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders.Michael Novak, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the E ...

since 1964, Ayau was its president from 1978 to 1980. He was on the board of directors of the

Liberty Fund Liberty Fund, Inc. is an American private educational foundation headquartered in Carmel, founded by Pierre F. Goodrich. Through publishing, conferences, and educational resources, the operating mandate of the Liberty Fund was set forth in an un ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and he was also a trustee of the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers pub ...

in New York. He was also a member of the

Philadelphia Society The Philadelphia Society is a membership organization the purpose of which is "to sponsor the interchange of ideas through discussion and writing, in the interest of deepening the intellectual foundation of a free and ordered society, and of bro ...

. In Guatemala, Ayau entered politics as a member of congress from 1970 to 1974, and as presidential candidate in the 1990 elections. Twice he has formed part of the central bank council and has been president of two different commercial banks, vice-president of the National Electrification Institute, trustee of the Philadelphia Society, and honorary member of the engineering society "

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

". His last contribution to Guatemala was as president of Asociacion Civil proReforma del Estado de Guatemala. In 2004 he was awarded by the Mont Pelerin Society for his contributions to freedom. Ayau obtained the Adam Smith Award from the

Association of Private Enterprise Education The Association of Private Enterprise Education is a nonprofit organization. It was founded by a philanthropic donation from Herman Lay, co-founder of Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo.

in 2005. He obtained the Juan de Mariana Award, from the Instituto Juan de Mariana, in Spain, in 2008. That year, at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Applicadas, he was appointed honorary professor.

Works

Among his most important works are "Como Mejorar el Nivel de Vida", "De Robinson a Viernes", "El Comercio", "La Década Perdida", "El Proceso Económico",Conference by Manuel F. Ayau
at Francisco Marroquin University. Guatemala, October 1994 "No Tenemos que Seguir Siendo Pobres para Siempre" and "Un Juego que no suma cero". He has been published widely in Guatemala and Latin America, as well as in the US, including in "Vision", "The Wall Street Journal", and "The Freeman".

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080517160814/http://www.proreforma.org.gt/ Asociacion ProReforma
Latin Business Chronicle
Manuel Ayau: LatAm Champion of Free Markets {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayau, Manuel Guatemalan businesspeople 1925 births 2010 deaths Hillsdale College alumni Louisiana State University alumni Northwood University alumni People associated with the Universidad Francisco Marroquín Guatemalan expatriates in the United States