Walther Moreira Salles

Walther Moreira Salles built a banking career before entering senior public service. Born in Minas Gerais in 1912, he divided his early adulthood between legal studies in São Paulo and the family business in Poços de Caldas. At 21 he took charge of the banking house that developed into Banco Moreira Salles and eventually became part of Unibanco. He later directed the Banco do Brasil’s credit portfolio and Brazil’s monetary and credit authority, Sumoc. ^{1, 2}

His two Washington ambassadorships, beginning in 1952 and 1959, centered on finance. Getúlio Vargas sent him to negotiate with American banks and the government; Juscelino Kubitschek returned him to the post during renewed difficulty over Brazil’s external debt and its relationship with the International Monetary Fund. ²

In 1961 President Jânio Quadros again sent Moreira Salles abroad as a special financial envoy. He handled American negotiations while Roberto Campos worked with European governments and banks. The missions secured a broad debt restructuring. Moreira Salles then became finance minister in João Goulart’s parliamentary government, seeking to restrain inflation and renegotiate external obligations before returning to business. ³

Cultural patronage occupied another large part of his life. He helped acquire works for the São Paulo Museum of Art, presided over Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Modern Art, and funded major art publications. In 1992 he founded the Instituto Moreira Salles. His former Rio residence became a cultural center and, after his death in 2001, the institution preserved his personal and professional archive. ¹