It is with great sadness that the Inter-American Development Bank announces the death in Mexico City on March 12, 2007, of Antonio Ortiz Mena, distinguished president of the IDB from 1971 to 1988. Former President Ortiz Mena was completely devoted to the region with which he identified so profoundly and personally, and which he served so passionately.
 
Luis Alberto Moreno, the IDB's current president, honored Former President Ortiz Mena, saying "Antonio was a pillar for the development and growth of the IDB as well as an outstanding public servant in Mexico."

Former President Ortiz Mena, a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, was a lawyer by profession and a graduate of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He was the IDB's second president, following Felipe Herrera. Antonio Ortiz Mena has been involved with the IDB since it was first founded. In the 1954 meeting of ministers of finance and economy in Brazil that marked the beginning of the process to create the IDB, he was the alternate representative for the Mexican delegation and he participated actively in the negotiation process. Before coming to the IDB, he was Mexico's Minister of Finance and Public Credit for two six-year terms, serving from 1958 to 1970, a very prosperous period for the Mexican economy. He would have celebrated his 100th birthday on April 16th of this year.   

His accomplishments as president of the IDB were many. One of his most outstanding achievements was the Declaration of Madrid, which permitted countries outside the Western Hemisphere to become members of the IDB and brought with it a substantial increase in financial resources for the IDB. During his tenure as president, membership increased from 23 to 44 countries, including 15 European countries, Israel and Japan. Canada and several English-speaking Caribbean countries also joined the IDB under his leadership.

The Bank's lending multiplied to ten times its prior level during Former President Ortiz Mena's tenure, beginning at $4 billion in 1970 and growing to $40 billion by 1987. Ordinary Capital resources increased from $2.4 billion to $34 billion during that same period. The former president was a pioneer in financing business development projects and technical cooperation operations in the region, and in 1978, he launched the Bank's first microenterprise program, as well as the Small Projects Program. He also expanded concessional lending to the less developed countries in the region.

He is survived by his wife, Martha Salinas de Ortiz Mena, six children, and numerous grandchildren and great grandchidren.