Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank

Mr. Moreno was elected president of the Inter-American Development Bank on July 27, 2005 and took office on October 1, 2005. Moreno was appointed to be Colombia's Ambassador to the United States in September 1998 by President Andrés Pastrana and ratified by President Alvaro Uribe upon his election in May 2002. Ambassador Moreno has overseen a dramatic improvement in Colombian-U.S. relations during his tenure in Washington.

His most notable achievement has been the successful effort to build strong bipartisan support in the United States Congress for passage of more than US$4.0 billion in U.S. assistance programs for Colombia. These resources have contributed to a material positive transformation of the security and economic situation in Colombia. Ambassador Moreno was also instrumental in the renewal and extension of the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA), and has been one of the leading promoters of negotiations towards a Colombia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Prior to his post as Ambassador, Moreno served a distinguished career in both the public and private sectors in Colombia.