Juan Alberto Fuentes appointed chair of Oxfam International

Oxfam International is delighted to announce the formal appointment of Guatemala’s former Minister of Finance Dr. Juan Alberto Fuentes as its new chair. 

Juan Alberto studied economics at the University of Toronto and gained a PhD from the University of Sussex. He was founder and director of the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI) and in 2008 became Minister for Finance in Guatemala. He later became a Regional Advisor of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and in 2012 became Director of the Division of Economic Development at ECLAC in Santiago, Chile. He took up a professorship of International Economics at the Universidad Rafael Landivar in Guatemala and also works as an independent consultant of public finance, economic integration and political economy.

Juan Alberto’s appointment coincides with a time of institutional change within Oxfam as it reorganizes its confederation to become a more global, stream-lined and influential one.

“I am excited by the chance to help shape Oxfam’s changes as it seeks to become an even more innovative force around the world, especially in using its knowledge with partners and allies to make a greater impact on global development issues. These changes will further the organization’s core goals that remain to reduce poverty and inequality, and help people to seize the opportunities of making better lives.”

Juan Alberto succeeds Dr. Joris Voorhoeve whose term as chair expired last month.