Mauricio Claver-Carone Explained

Mauricio Claver-Carone
Office:President of the Inter-American Development Bank
Term Start:October 1, 2020
Term End:September 26, 2022
Predecessor:Luis Alberto Moreno
Successor:Reina Mejía (Acting)
Birth Place:Miami, Florida, U.S.
Party:Republican
Education:Rollins College (BA)
Catholic University (JD)
Georgetown University (LLM)

Mauricio Claver-Carone (born 1975)[1] is an American private-equity investor, former Treasury Department and National Security Council official, lawyer, and lobbyist, who was the president of the Inter-American Development Bank from October 2020[2] until September 26, 2022.[3] [4]

Early life and education

Claver-Carone was born in Miami, Florida, to parents of Cuban and Spanish descent.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Rollins College, Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America and Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University Law Center.

Career

Private Equity

Mauricio Claver-Carone is the Founding Partner of the Latin America Real Assets (LARA) Opportunities Fund, a private-equity firm focused on transitional energy and sustainable infrastructure projects in high growth markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is also a Partner of Hudson Sustainable Group, a global sustainable investment firm that is a sponsor of the LARA Fund.

Inter-American Development Bank

In June 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced its intention to nominate Claver-Carone for the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),[5] the principal source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

His nomination generated a mixed reaction among the Bank’s member countries, as the institution’s presidency was historically reserved for a citizen of one of its borrowing member countries.[6]

He was elected by the IDB’s Board of Directors on September 12, 2020, for a five-year term beginning on October 1, 2020.[7] Thirty of the Bank's 48 governors voted for him (67% of total shareholding), including 23 out of the 28 regional governors.[8] [9]

On September 26, 2022, Claver-Carone was removed from the presidency with a vote by the governors; after an ethics investigation alleged that he had an affair with a subordinate. The affair, which both Claver-Carone and the subordinate denied, allegedly occurred during their tenure on the National Security Council in the Trump administration. Claver-Carone accused the investigation of being "arbitrary and ad hoc" and as an effort by the Biden administration to "smear his reputation."[10]

Despite the controversy, under Claver-Carone's presidency, the IDB successfully optimized its balance sheet to deliver record-breaking financing of $23.4 billion while implementing unprecedented cost savings;[11] more than doubled its net income from 2020-2022;[12] built a private sector coalition to achieve record-breaking co-financing and mobilization;[13] had the biggest single-year gains ever in transparency indicators and stakeholder satisfaction surveys;[14] named the most women to positions of decision-making power ever in the history of the Bank; ensured small countries were represented in the most senior ranks for the first time; earned long-lost bipartisan support from U.S. Congressional leaders;[15] and ended the Bank's deals with China over the last decade.[16]

Government positions and IMF role

From 2017 to 2018, Claver-Carone was Senior Advisor for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he was a principal policy advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the Under Secretary for International Affairs on geopolitical, national security and economic issues.

He then served as acting U.S. Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, representing the United States on the Executive Board.[17] He played an important role in lending arrangements for Argentina, Barbados and Ecuador, and revolving credit lines for Colombia and Mexico.

In September 2018, Claver-Carone was appointed Special Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council.[18] In 2019, he was promoted to become a Deputy Assistant to the President. In this role, Claver-Carone is credited for creating the U.S. government's maximum-pressure campaign against the Maduro regime[19] in Venezuela and for conceptualizing the "América Crece" economic growth strategy and frameworks.[20]  He was also selected by President Trump to represent the United States in inauguration delegations to Brazil,[21] Panama[22] and Uruguay.[23]

Claver-Carone also helped design the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018, which created the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.[24]

He also spearheaded the first White House-led Western Hemisphere Strategic Framework for U.S. inter-agency policy guidance and development since 2004.

Early career

Claver-Carone began his career as an attorney-advisor for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller, where he provided counsel on banking laws, capital requirements and securitizations.[25] He was also a Clinical Assistant Professor at The Catholic University of America’s School of Law, an adjunct professor at The George Washington University’s National Law Center and a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Law Center for the Americas.

Cuba policy

Before joining the U.S. government, Claver-Carone was executive director of Cuba Democracy Advocates, a lobbying organization for human rights, free markets and the rule of law in Cuba.[26]

Other

Claver-Carone has provided congressional testimony before the Committees on Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, the Judiciary and Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives.

He has written for HuffPost,[27] The Wall Street Journal[28] and The New York Times, among other publications. He has also published in academic journals, including the Georgetown Journal of International Law and the Yale Journal of International Affairs.

Poder Magazine recognized him as one of 20 entrepreneurs, executives, leaders and artists under 40 who are shaping the future of the U.S. and the world.

Claver-Carone hosted the bilingual foreign-policy show From Washington al Mundo on Sirius-XM Radio.[29] He also co-founded a data-software start-up company.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Llano . Pablo de . Trump signs up vocal Cuba critic Mauricio Claver-Carone . 26 September 2022 . . 22 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200919150400/https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/11/22/inenglish/1479820692_413463.html . 19 September 2020 . Miami . en-us.
  2. Web site: IDB President Claver-Carone Highlights Job Creation, Capital Increase in Debut Speech IADB. 2020-10-08. www.iadb.org.
  3. News: Stott . Michael . Inter-American Development Bank votes to oust Donald Trump-era president . subscription . 26 September 2022 . . 26 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220927013210/https://www.ft.com/content/6745c027-457a-4cae-a7d6-7f7d0e00b009 . 27 September 2022 . live-->.
  4. Web site: Garrison . Cassandra . Shalal . Andrea . Exclusive: IDB governors vote to remove bank president Claver-Carone after ethics investigation . . 26 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926182359/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/exclusive-idb-governors-vote-remove-bank-president-claver-carone-after-ethics-2022-09-26/ . 26 September 2022 . en . 26 September 2022 . live.
  5. Web site: United States Announces Nominee for Presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank Group U.S. Department of the Treasury. 2020-11-05. home.treasury.gov.
  6. News: Trump administration nominates American to head Inter-American Development Bank, breaking with tradition. The Washington Post.
  7. Web site: Mauricio J. Claver-Carone Elected IDB President IADB. 2020-11-05. www.iadb.org.
  8. Web site: Shalal. Andrea. Garrison. Cassandra. September 12, 2020. Trump nominee elected to head Latin American development bank. September 12, 2020. Reuters.
  9. Web site: Rodriguez. Sabrina. September 12, 2020. Trump's pick elected to run Latin American development bank. September 16, 2020. Politico.
  10. News: Opinion The Biden Administration Smears My Reputation . 2023-04-11 . Wall Street Journal . September 29, 2022 . en-US.
  11. Web site: IDB Sets Record $23.4 Billion in 2021 Financing & Mobilization, Surpassing Prior Estimate IADB . 2023-04-11 . www.iadb.org.
  12. Web site: IDB Annual Report 2022 Financial Statements . https://web.archive.org/web/20230719122439/https://iadb-ezshare-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/IDBDocsPublic/EZIDB0000550-1177496895-579?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA2UJKEGX4ZJPFOVXT&Expires=1689769489&response-cache-control=No-cache&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3D2022%20Annual%20Report.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&Signature=IPp9NZvdntokTrMd5N3J8u0cEkw%3D . 2023-07-19 . dead.
  13. Web site: IDB President, CEOs Launch Historic Partnership for Latin American and Caribbean Recovery IADB . 2023-04-11 . www.iadb.org.
  14. Web site: IDB Among Leaders in 2022 Aid Transparency Index IADB . 2023-04-11 . www.iadb.org.
  15. Web site: Menendez, Rubio, Kaine, Cassidy and Cardin Introduce IDB General Capital Increase Act United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations . 2023-04-11 . www.foreign.senate.gov . March 4, 2021 . en.
  16. News: O’Grady . Mary Anastasia . Opinion How China Took Latin America . 2023-04-11 . Wall Street Journal . July 31, 2022 . en-US.
  17. Book: IMF Organization Chart. International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2018: Building a Shared Future . 2018-10-02. International Monetary Fund. 978-1-4843-7345-3. en-US.
  18. News: Lippman. Daniel. Trump taps new Western Hemisphere chief. 2020-11-05. Politico. October 13, 2020 . en.
  19. News: Talley. Jessica Donati, Vivian Salama and Ian. 2019-01-30. U.S. Push to Oust Venezuela's Maduro Marks First Shot in Plan to Reshape Latin America. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2020-10-29. 0099-9660.
  20. Web site: Guatemela. elPeriodico de. América Crece, la nueva propuesta de desarrollo de EE. UU. para Centroamérica. 2020-10-29. elPeriodico. October 16, 2019 . es.
  21. Web site: President Trump Announces Presidential Delegation to the Federative Republic of Brazil to Attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Jair Bolsonaro. 2020-10-29. whitehouse.gov. en-US. National Archives.
  22. Web site: President Donald J. Trump Announces Presidential Delegation to Attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Laurentino Cortizo of Panama. 2020-10-29. whitehouse.gov. en-US. National Archives.
  23. Web site: President Trump Announces Presidential Delegation to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay to Attend the Inauguration of Dr. Luis Lacalle Pou. 2020-10-29. whitehouse.gov. en-US. National Archives.
  24. Web site: United States Announces Nominee for Presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank Group U.S. Department of the Treasury. 2020-11-05. home.treasury.gov.
  25. Web site: Mauricio Claver-Carone.
  26. Web site: Mauricio Claver-Carone HuffPost. 2020-11-05. www.huffpost.com. en.
  27. News: Mauricio Claver-Carone. The Huffington Post. August 18, 2015.
  28. News: Claver-Carone. Mauricio. June 23, 2015. When Helping 'the Cuban People' Means Bankrolling the Castros. The Wall Street Journal. August 18, 2015.
  29. Web site: 2015-08-14. Cristina Radio - Empowering Hispanic Radio! - From Washington Al Mundo. 2020-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20150814050454/http://www.cristinaradio.com/page.php?page_id=221. August 14, 2015.