Luis Valdivieso Montano

Luis Miguel Valdivieso Montano trained in economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and earned his master’s degree and doctorate at Boston University. He spent 1980–2008 at the International Monetary Fund, working on economic programmes in Latin America, the former Soviet Union, and Asia. His assignments included Mexico and Russia, missions to Cambodia and Laos, and service as resident representative in Sri Lanka in 2005–2006. ¹

President Alan García appointed him economy and finance minister in July 2008. His brief tenure coincided with the global financial crisis; the ministry’s account of his January 2009 departure emphasized fiscal management, contingency planning, and preparations for sovereign borrowing. He then moved to the Washington embassy, taking up duties in April 2009. In an interview on arrival he identified a meeting between García and President Barack Obama as one of his immediate objectives. ^{2, 3}

On 7 April 2010 Valdivieso received two religious paintings from the eighteenth century returned by the FBI at the Peruvian embassy. The works, associated with the Cusco and Lima traditions, had been recovered after a dealer questioned their provenance. After his 2009–2011 embassy term, he worked in finance and policy advisory roles; by 2019 his work included leadership of Peru’s private pension fund association and service in international investment advisory groups. ^{4, 5}