The new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama is Doctor Alejandro Ferrer. He was sworn in last night by President Laurentino Cortizo and will serve his tenure from 2019-2024. The Minister’s biography is available in Spanish here, and in English below.
Biography
Dr. Alejandro Ferrer was born in Panama on February 1, 1967, he is the son of Enna López de Ferrer and Alejandro Ferrer Stanziola. He is married to Irene Arias Galindo with whom he has two daughters.
He graduated high school from Colegio La Salle and continued his university studies at the Catholic University Santa Maria la Antigua in Panama (USMA), where, in 1990 he graduated with a Bachelor of Law and Political Science, sum cum laude.
In 1992 he obtained a Masters in Law and in 2000, a Doctorate in Law Science at the University of Michigan, as a Fulbright Scholar. He also participated in a course on Global Leadership and Public Policies for the 21st Century at Harvard University.
In 1993 he acted as Legal Advisor to the Adhesion Commission of Panama before the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and in 1994, he became its Deputy Permanent Representative. Between 1998 and 1999 he was a member of the Presidential Commission against Money Laundering, and in the periods 1996-1999 and 2008-2009, he was a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.
Between 1994 and 1995 he served as Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland and Alternate Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations. Between 1995 and 1996, he was a Foreign Trade Advisor at the Embassy of Panama in Washington.
Between 1996 and 1997 he was Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
During the period between 2004 and 2008, he occupied the office of Minister of Commerce and Industries. He is a Partner at the Law Firm Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, of which he is on leave to occupy this public post.
During his tenure as Minister of Commerce, through appropriate promotion policies, Panama exceeded a billion dollars in exports for the first time. This continued for several years. He also promoted the Multinational Offices Act (Law 41 of 2007) which has attracted more than 150 world-renowned companies to the country, generating thousands of jobs.
In 2008 Dr. Ferrer received the Global Young Leader of the World Economic Forum title and the Integrity Award of the Government Ethics category of the Panamanian Chapter of Transparency International. During his tenure, he was recognized along with the Electoral Tribunal as the most transparent entity by the Pro-Justice Citizen Alliance.
He was president of the Amador Foundation (Museum of Biodiversity) from 2006 to 2013. He is a Central America Leadership Initiative (CALI) fellow.