William Chong Wong (died June 17, 2018) was a Honduran economist, professor and politician. He twice served as

Minister of Finance of Honduras The Ministry of Finance of Honduras is responsible for the public finance policies of Honduras. The ministry was created after the first constitution of Honduras was adopted in 1825. Ministers of Finance *Casto Alvarado, ?-1841-1847http://www.rep ...

, during the administrations of President Ricardo Maduro and President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. He was born in Honduras to Chinese immigrant parents and educated in Spain and the United States. He was a professor at

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras The National Autonomous University of Honduras () is the national public university of Honduras. Founded in 1847, it has over 140 programs from the Bachelor's level to the Doctorate, and is the largest and highest ranked university in Honduras. ...

and co-founded the

Central American Technological University The Central American Technological University ( es, Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana) (UNITEC) is a private coeducational institution with campuses in the three main cities of Honduras: Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. History ...

in 1987.

Early life and education

Chong Wong was born in

Puerto Cortés Puerto Cortés, originally known as Puerto de Caballos, is a port city and municipality on the north Caribbean coast of Honduras, right on the Laguna de Alvarado, north of San Pedro Sula and east of Omoa, with a natural bay. The present city ...

, Honduras, the eldest of five sons of two Chinese immigrants who had fled war-torn China in the 1940s. His father arrived in Honduras at the age of 28, via Hong Kong, the United States and Cuba. His mother arrived in 1947. He attended schools in Puerto Cortés and

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 671,460 ...

, before going to Spain to study chemical engineering. However, when his father died, he had to return to Honduras to help run the family's grocery store, as his mother spoke little Spanish. He later went to the United States to study economics and accounting.

Career

After graduating from university, he worked in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, for the representative office of an American company. He started teaching at

(UNAH) at age 21, and had a teaching career that lasted for 34 years. He later became a manager at the National Bank for Agricultural Development ( BANADESA), beginning his career in the public sector. In 1987, he co-founded the

(UNITEC), where he served as a director and professor. Chong Wong was appointed

by President Ricardo Maduro in 2004. During his tenure he completed the negotiation with the Paris Club for the cancellation of external debt owed by Honduras. When Porfirio Lobo Sosa became President of Honduras in January 2010, Chong Wong was again appointed as Minister of Finance. However, during Honduras' negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new aid agreement, IMF found that Honduras had failed to reach its deficit target in 2011. Chong Wong took responsibility and resigned in February 2012. A week before his death in June 2018, Chong Wong was named as one of the 38 people implicated in a corruption case filed by MACCIH, the anti-corruption agency of the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

(OAS). The so-called "Pandora case" involved the alleged diversion of 282 million

lempiras The lempira (, sign: L, ISO 4217 code: HNL;) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. Etymology The lempira was named after the 16th-century ''cacique'' Lempira, a ruler of the indigenous Lenca people, who is renown ...

(about US$11.2 million) of public funds during the 2013 election campaign. He denied any wrongdoing.

Personal life and death

Chong Wong was a Roman Catholic. He never married and had no children. Chong Wong suffered from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

for the last two years of his life. He sought treatment in the United States and underwent chemotherapy. He died in Tegucigalpa on June 17, 2018, from respiratory arrest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chong Wong, William Year of birth unknown 20th-century births 2018 deaths Finance Ministers of Honduras Honduran economists Honduran people of Chinese descent Academic staff of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras People from Puerto Cortés Deaths from respiratory failure Honduran Roman Catholics National Party of Honduras politicians 21st-century Honduran politicians