The Candidate Evaluation Commission for International Financial Institutions (IFIs) has selected the candidates to fill the positions that correspond to Spain in the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). These are organizations of high importance in the international sphere, which require high qualifications to exercise the representation of countries and which are governed by rotation agreements. For the selection of the candidates, the criterion of suitability and the history of public service are used, as well as the experience in the corresponding subjects.
In the case of the World Bank, the position to be filled is that of Executive Director for the period from November 1 of this year to October 31, 2018. Spain now begins her shift in the chair she shares with Mexico, Venezuela and five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua). The proposed candidate is José Manuel Soria (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1958), Bachelor of Economic and Business Sciences and Commercial Technician and State Economist. The term to present candidacies ends today and his nomination, along with the other 24 executive directors proposed by the rest of the countries, will be voted by the 189 Governors of the World Bank.
José Manuel Soria has extensive experience, especially in the Public Administration, but also in the teaching field and in the private sector. As a high official of the State, he has been Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism during the X Legislature and has held different positions of responsibility in the Ministry of Economy, especially in the area of Foreign Trade. He has also been a professor of Macroeconomics and International Economics. In the political sphere, he has also been minister, mayor of Las Palmas, and vice-president and counselor of the Treasury of the Canary Islands Government.
The Evaluation Commission has also selected Fernando Jiménez Latorre (Madrid, 1957) as alternate director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Jiménez Latorre currently holds the position of IMF executive director, within the rotating chair that Spain shares with Colombia, Costa Rica, Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Venezuela. The mandate is for two years and begins in November 2016. Jiménez Latorre is also a Bachelor of Economic and Business Sciences and a Commercial Technician and State Economist. He has developed most of his professional career in Public Administration. Until his departure to the IMF two years ago he was Secretary of State for Economy and Business Support.
The third of the positions filled is that of alternate director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, for which Pablo Gasós y Casao (Zaragoza, 1961) has been selected. The mandate is for three renewable years and the planned incorporation is next October 1. Gasós y Casao is also a Bachelor of Economics and a Commercial Technician and State Economist. He currently holds the position of Director of Studies and Statistics at the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
The Evaluation Commission is chaired by the Secretary of State for Economy and Business Support and it is also part of the Secretary of State for Commerce, the General Secretariat of the Treasury, the General Directorate for Macroeconomic Analysis and International Economy and the General Directorate of Economic Policy. The decision on the candidates is reflected in a resolution of the Secretary of State for the Economy that is sent to the corresponding organizations.
