Luis Machado

Luis Machado was a Cuban lawyer whose international work began with the country’s delegation to the 1919 peace conference. He later represented Cuba at Bretton Woods, where he advocated attention to development as well as European reconstruction. In a recorded interview, he recalled this as an important concern of the Latin American delegations. ¹

He became a World Bank director in 1946 and helped organize its early administration. As chairman of an administrative committee, he signed the contract engaging Eugene Meyer as the bank’s first president. His service at the bank was interrupted by diplomatic work and resumed in 1952. ¹

As ambassador in Washington, Machado defended Cuba’s access to the American sugar market. In June 1951 he delivered a protest over proposed changes to sugar legislation, emphasizing their domestic political consequences and seeking reassuring diplomatic language. He also presented Cuban decorations to senior American military officers at the embassy on José Martí's birthday in January 1952. ^{2, 3}

Machado was an advocate of the International Finance Corporation. He recalled working to win Latin American, American, and British support for an institution that could finance private industry without a government guarantee. He also supported broadening its ability to invest in shares. He died in the Washington area in February 1979. ^{1, 4}