Azucena Arbeleche

Summary

Azucena María Arbeleche Perdomo (born 29 September 1970) is a Uruguayan professor, economist and civil servant who serves as Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay since March 1, 2020 under president Luis Lacalle Pou, being the first woman to hold that office.[1][2]

Azucena Arbeleche
Arbeleche in 2021
Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay
Assumed office
1 March 2020
PresidentLuis Alberto Lacalle Pou
Preceded byDanilo Astori
Personal details
Born
Azucena María Arbeleche Perdomo

(1970-09-29) 29 September 1970 (age 53)
Uruguay
Political partyNational Party
SpouseJuan Alzugaray
Children3
Alma materUniversity of the Republic
OccupationEconomist, professor, politician, civil servant

Early life and education edit

Azucena María Arbeleche Perdomo was born in 1970, the daughter of Beltrán José Arbeleche and Theresita Perdomo.[3] She attended The British Schools of Montevideo, and in 1996 graduated from the University of the Republic with a degree in economics.[4] She also obtained a master's degree in applied macroeconomics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.[5]

Career edit

While she was in her fourth year of college, she worked for the Office of Planning and Budget.[6] From March 1995 to December 1996, she served as a collaborator at BGV Corredores de Bolsa, and from 1998 to 2000 at the Center for Economic and Financial Research in Santiago.[7]

In 2001 she joined the Macroeconomic Advisory of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, at the request of her former professor ant then minister Isaac Alfie.[8] In that position, she participated in the design and implementation of measures against the 2002 crisis, and in the restructuring process of the total government debt in May 2003.[7][9] From 2005 to 2010, she served as an advisor to the Debt Management Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, at the request of then-minister Danilo Astori.[8] She was its head from 2011 to 2014, when she resigned to join the presidential campaign of Luis Lacalle Pou as economic adviser.[10]

Between 2015 and 2019 she dedicated herself to carrying out independent consultancies in debt management abroad through the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Plata Basin Financial Development Fund.[4] She also held the position of director of the Center for Studies of the National Party.[9] Arbeleche was a professor at institutions such as the University of the Republic, the Catholic University of Uruguay, Andrés Bello National University and the University of Montevideo.[11]

A member of the National Party, Arbeleche was in charge of economic issues for the presidential campaigns of Luis Lacalle Pou in 2014 and 2019.[12][13] On December 16, 2019, she was formally announced by the president-elect Lacalle Pou as head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, becoming on March 1, 2020, the first woman to hold the position.[14][15] During the process of reactivating the Uruguayan economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arbeleche expressed her admiration for Keynesian economics.[16]

Other activities edit

Personal life edit

With her husband Juan Alzugaray, Arbeleche has two sons born in Chile and a daughter born in Boston.[18][19] She is a Roman Catholic and has done social work as a catechist and teacher in slums.[20][6]

In 2014 she was featured on the cover of the magazine Seis Grados of the newspaper El Observador.[21]

References edit

  1. ^ Suárez, Rocío Vargas. "Azucena Arbeleche: Los lazos con Chile de la primera mujer ministra de Economía de Uruguay". Diario Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Nuevos secretarios de Estado firmaron Libro de Actas ante el flamante presidente, Luis Lacalle Pou - Presidencia de la República". www.presidencia.gub.uy. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  3. ^ Observador, El. "Fúnebres". El Observador. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Azucena Arbeleche firmó el Libro de Actas ante presidente Luis Lacalle Pou". Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  5. ^ "50 mujeres uruguayas influyentes". archive.ph. 9 December 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Azucena Arbeleche cantó Las 40". Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b AM, Radio Montecarlo CX20-930. "El perfil de la ministra de Economía, Azucena Arbeleche". Radio Montecarlo CX20-930 AM (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b ElPais. "Arbeleche: "La principal preocupación es el empleo" y para recuperar la economía hay que "empujar con medidas fiscales"". Diario EL PAIS Uruguay (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b "CUB ▪ALMUERZO 8 DE MAYO". cub.com.uy. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Renunció Azucena Arbeleche, responsable de Gestión de Deuda del MEF". Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Documento: Curriculum de Azucena Arbeleche-Partido Nacional" [Document: Curriculum of Azucena Arbeleche-National Party] (in Spanish). El Espectador. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  12. ^ ElPais. "Entrevista a Arbeleche: reactivación, empleo, Mercosur, nuevo impuesto mundial y más". Diario EL PAIS Uruguay (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  13. ^ ""Las ideas las transmito con firmeza, es mi forma de ser"". Revista Galeria de Busqueda en Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  14. ^ Observador, El. "Lacalle Pou anuncia su gabinete: "No va a ser un gobierno de excusas"". El Observador. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  15. ^ Suárez, Rocío Vargas. "Azucena Arbeleche: Los lazos con Chile de la primera mujer ministra de Economía de Uruguay". Diario Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  16. ^ Observador, El. "Lacalle y su referencia a Keynes, uno de los referentes de su ministra de Economía". El Observador. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  17. ^ Board of Governors Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
  18. ^ "Junta de Ética y Transparencia Pública - MEF Ministra Arbeleche" (PDF).
  19. ^ "Quién es Azucena Arbeleche, la candidata blanca al Ministerio de Economía | Noticias Uruguay y el Mundo actualizadas - Diario EL PAIS Uruguay". 31 August 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  20. ^ Observador, El. "Azucena Arbeleche, la mujer que maneja la deuda uruguaya". El Observador. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Lacalle Pou ya tiene ministra de Economía para Uruguay" [Lacalle Pou Already Has an Economy Minister for Uruguay] (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Urgente24. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2017.