Aldo Ferrer, former Argentine Minister of the Economy, was born on April 15, 1927, and died on March 8, 2016, at the age of 88. He was appointed to Argentina’s National Academy of Economic Sciences (ANCE) in 1968. Ferrer was a renowned economist with a long career in public service. He was Economic Advisor to the Argentine Embassy in London; Minister of the Economy for Buenos Aires Province (1958–1960); Argentine Minister of Public Works and Services and Minister of the Economy (1970–1971); President of the Bank of Buenos Aires Province (1983–1987); and President of the National Commission of Atomic Energy (1991–2001). He was also Vice-president of ENARSA and was Argentina’s Ambassador to France (2011–2013).[1]
Regional integration was a cornerstone of Dr Ferrer’s academic and professional work. In his role as a university professor, he created and oversaw the Master’s Program in Regional Integration/MERCOSUR at the University of Buenos Aires, where he helped train several generations of experts in this field. In his speeches, he discussed national economic projects (link in Spanish) as pillars for strengthening regional integration. He always paid special attention to social dynamics in Latin America (link in Spanish) and proposed a range of alternatives for increasing social inclusion.
In recent articles, he championed increased integration between Brazil and Argentina, and considered the concept of integration in a broad sense that he argued should be deployed on three levels: domestic policies, the rules of play of integration, and the region’s profile towards the rest of the world.
As an enthusiastic supporter of Latin American integration, Dr Ferrer took part in a range of projects organized by the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL). The most noteworthy of his publications with INTAL include:
Ferrer, A. (1985). “De la crisis de la deuda a la viabilidad financiera [From the debt crisis to financial viability],” in: Integración Latinoamericana, 10(100), p. 53–57.
Ferrer, A. (1975). “El Mercado Común Centroamericano de ciencia y tecnología [The common Central American science and technology market],” (link in Spanish) in: Revista de la Integración, 8(18), p. 89–167.
Lagos, G.; Ferrer, A.; Baldinelli, E.; Noriega Morales, M.; Zabala, J.; Dam, A.; Angarita Silva, A.; Bouzán, A.; Bertero, C.; Pollner, M.; Da Fonseca Pinheiro, J., and Aragao, J. (1967). Los empresarios y la integración de América Latina [Business owners and Latin American integration] (link in Spanish). Buenos Aires: INTAL.
[1] Biography of Aldo Ferrer published by Juan Carlos de Pablo in CONTEXTO, no. 1,388; March 14, 2016.
