On October 1st, 2005, Mr. Iglesias became the first Ibero-American General Secretary, based in Madrid, Spain.
Between 1988 and 2005 he was President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the oldest and largest regional development Bank. Iglesias was the third president of the IDB after Felipe Herrera (Chile, 1960-1971) and Antonio Ortiz Mena (Mexico, 1971-1988).
During Iglesias’ tenure, the governors of the IDB member countries concluded, in 1989, the negotiations on the Seventh General Increase in Resources. This added $26.5 billion to the Bank’s ordinary capital and $200 million to the Fund for Special Operations (FSO), the institution’s soft lending window. In 1995 the governors approved the Eighth General Increase in Resources, adding $40 billion to the ordinary capital to reach a total of $101 billion and $1 billion to the FSO, which resources thus exceed $10 billion.
Also during Iglesias’ tenure, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) started operations to support small- and medium sized businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean with loans and equity investments. The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) was established under IDB administration in 1993 to support private sector growth through grants, technical assistance and equity investments.
Prior to his election as president of the IDB, Iglesias was Uruguay’s Minister of Foreign Relations, (1985-1988); Executive Secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), (1972-1985); Secretary General of the U.N. Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, held in Kenya in 1981; and chairman of the conference that launched the Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1986. These negotiations led to the creation of the World Trade Organization, the successor to the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade. Iglesias served as President of Uruguay’s Central Bank from 1966 to 1968.
Iglesias has taught economic development at Uruguay’s Universidad de la República and served as director of its Institute of Economics. He has written numerous articles and papers on Latin American and Uruguayan economic issues, capital markets, external financing and multilateralism. Iglesias has received many honorary academic degrees and professional awards.
Born in Asturias, Spain, Iglesias is a naturalized Uruguayan citizen. He graduated from the Uruguay’s Universidad de la República in Economics and Business Administration in 1953 and pursued specialized programs of study in the United States and France.