HERMINIO A. BLANCO MENDOZA

Experience

1978-1980 Senior Advisor to the Finance Minister of Mexico.

1980-1985 Assistant Professor of Economics, Rice University, Houston, Texas.

1985-1988 One of the three members of Council of Economic Advisors to the President of Mexico.

1988-1990 Undersecretary for International Trade, Ministry of Trade and Industry.

1990-1993 Chief Negotiator of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

1993-1994 Undersecretary for International Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Trade
and Industry.

1994-2000 Secretary of Trade and Industry.

Chairman of the National Council for Deregulation

Chairman of the Advisory Council for Trade Negotiations

Chairman of the Board of Exportadora de Sal, S.A. (One of the two world leaders in industrial salt production)

Chairman of the Board of Fideicomiso de Fomento Minero (The public bank
dedicated to the mining sector)

Vice-Chairman of the Board BANCOMEXT (Mexico's export promotion bank)

2000 Business Consultant
Member of the International Advisory Committee of Mitsubishi Corporation.

Member of the Advisory Council of the Economics Department, The University of Chicago.

Results

1. During the last fifteen years in the Mexican government, the last six years
as a senior member of the Economic Cabinet, I have participated both in designing and implementing the deep structural changes which that have made of Mexico an open and competitive economy.

2. Responsible for foreign direct investment promotion. Mexico, in the last
seven years, has tripled the inflow of foreign direct investment. Mexico is now
an investment hub for the main trading areas.

3. Leading the Mexican team that successfully negotiated the free trade
agreements with 29 countries:

a. Canada and the United Sates (NAFTA);

b. The European Union

c. In Latin America:

· Bolivia;
· Chile;
· Colombia;
· Costa Rica;
· Nicaragua;
· El Salvador,
· Guatemala
· Honduras;
· Uruguay;
· Venezuela

d. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and

e. Israel.

4. Leading the Mexican government lobbying efforts for NAFTA in the US Congress.

5. Designing and implementing a far reaching reform program to eliminate red tape, enhance efficiency and augment transparency in Mexico´s public sector. We cut by half the number of federal regulations during the 1994- 2000 period. Reviewed and provided input for more than 500 regulatory initiatives were introduced; legislation that deregulated and unbundled the transportation and distribution of natural gas was adopted; all remaining price controls were eliminated. Deregulation of aviation, including the division of the monopoly airline.

6. Managerial restructuring of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the only ministry to receive the Government of Mexico Quality Award, 2000 for having obtained the ISO9000 certification. The Ministry has more than five thousand people and more that fifty offices across the country,

7. Designing and implementing programs to improve the competitiveness of small and medium size enterprises (SME's) including establishing a consulting corporation, which has more than fifty offices in Mexico. This corporation has gained the support and recognition from the private sector organizations.

8. Established a strong network of top level public officials and CEO's of major corporations in Mexico, the rest of the Latin America, US, Canada, Europe and Japan.

Education

1971 B.A. in Economics, Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

1976 M.A. in Economics, University of Chicago.

1978 Ph.D. in Economics, University of Chicago

Born July 25, 1950 in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico