By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
Tuesday November 15, 2022
Trinidadian and Former IDB official Gerard Johnson has been nominated among five candidates for the post of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President.
Johnson is said to have a longstanding history with the IDB, having over 20 years of experience with the agency. Interviews for the post were held Saturday, with candidates interviewed by representatives from the bank’s 48 member states ahead of the election next week. The other candidates hail from Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile.
However, the nomination for the Johnson came from Trinidad and Tobago’s Planning and Development Minister Penelope Beckles, who currently serves as a representative on the IDB’s Board of Governors.
The IDB’s Governors, who are usually finance ministers or other high-ranking economic authorities from the Bank’s 48 member countries, will have the opportunity to interview the candidates at a virtual meeting on November 13th.
In remarking on her making her nomination known, Minister Beckles says “We need a President who has the ability to hit the ground running. A President who knows our region, and our people. A President who has a deep appreciation for the nuances in our culture across the Hemisphere”. She added that “With Mr Johnson at the helm, I am indeed confident that the Bank will be effectively guided to mobilise the required resources and develop targeted solutions for reigniting the much-needed growth in the Hemisphere”. It has been noticed that Trinidadians have taken up important roles at the IDB, as its Former Government minister Robert Le Hunte, currently holds the position as executive director at the IDB, as of July this year, and more recent former Banker, Tariq Alli was named IDB Caribbean General Manager and Jamaica Country Representative in September.
The election comes less than two months after former IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone was removed by the organisation’s executive board following an investigation into his allegedly inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.
The winning candidate is expected to serve a five-year term, but is required to obtain the majority of voting power from member countries and receive support from at least 15 of the 28 regional members. The United States holds 30 per cent voting power, followed by Brazil and Argentina with 11 per cent each, and Columbia and Chile, who each have a three per cent stake. The election is set to take place at a hybrid meeting of the Board of Governors on November 20, 2022.