Antonio Ortiz Mena
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonio Ortiz Mena (b. Parral, Chihuahua, 16 April 1907; d. Mexico City, 12 March 2007) was a Mexican politician and economist.
He studied economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and was appointed director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) from 1952 to 1958. From 1958 to 1970 he served as Secretary of Finance and Public Credit for a twelve-year period of sustained economic growth and development under presidents Adolfo López Mateos and Gustavo Díaz Ordaz. He competed unsuccessfully for the PRI's nomination for the 1970 presidential election, losing to Díaz Ordaz's preferred successor Luis Echeverría Álvarez. In 1971 he was appointed president of the Inter-American Development Bank, where he remained until 1988. Between 1988 and 1990 he served as the director of Banamex, one of the country's leading commercial banks, while the banking system was still state-owned.
He died in Mexico City on 12 March 2007 at the age of 99, 1 month and 4 days before his 100th birthday. He died after having spent the previous two weeks in hospital.
