Felipe Herrera Library

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About Felipe Herrera Library

Hours

Regular hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. The Library is not open on the weekend.

Who was Felipe Herrera?
Felipe Herrera was the founder and first President of the Inter-American Development Bank during the decade of 1960 to 1970. He was born in Valparaiso, Chile, in June 17, 1922. Felipe Herrera graduated as lawyer in 1947, at the University of Chile and as economist at the London School of Economics. Since his early years he demonstrated interest and devotion for public vocation always aiming at the common good. As a sophomore he represented his class before the Student Council and later, at the age of 22, he was elected president of the Student Federation (FECH). In these roles he manifested his extraordinary organizing ability and leadership skills. Since then he continue directing his career towards the economic and cultural integration and the development of Latin America. He was not only a pioneer of the region but a remarkable human being who devoted his life to this cause. His career was versatil and meteoric. After his post-graduate studies he held several high-rank positions. At the age of 26, he was appointed general manager of the Central Bank of Chile and after a short period of time he attained the post of Minister of Finance of Chile. In this capacity he also acted as governor before the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He arrived in Washington in 1958 as Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund representing the southern countries of Latin America commonly known as Cono Sur. His vision to create a development bank was latent all these years (1953-1958). In 1959, after a year of his arrival to Washington, the Comission of the Organization of American States (OAS) hammered out an agreement of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) creation. In his own words, birth was given to a bank of integration, a bank of ideas, and the bank of the latinamerican university. He not only promoted tecnically and financially this process of integration but promoted integration of cultures, ideas, politics, and experiences among the region countries. He died in Santiago de Chile on September 17, 1996. Felipe Herrera is now remembered by IDB employees as an admirable human being, a dedicated and visionary intellectual, a carismatic and humble individual, a man of character and convincing, who devoted his life towards the economic and social well-being of the latinamerican family.