Who is the Honduran Queen Irene Mejía, who took the reins of the IDB?

The dismissal and with immediate effect on Monday afternoon, the former president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Mauricio Claver-Carone, put into action the Consultative Agreement that mandates that whoever occupies the Executive Vice Presidency must assume the presidency at the moment.

Thus, the Honduran executive Reina Irene Mejía Chacón directs since last night as interim president the financial organization based in the US capital while the short lists of election of the position are called and then the General Assembly of Governors of the bank, represented by the member countries, vote.

During the interim presidency, the official will lead the bank under the control of the IDB Executive Board.

Mejía Chacón is a renowned banking executive in Honduras and other Central American countries with a career built on more than 25 years of experience, both in local and regional banking. She became vice president of the IDB on December 16, 2020.

From Honduras, Marcio Sierra, president of the National Commission of Banks and Insurance and also advisor minister in Public Management for Results of the administration of President Xiomara Castro, said the voice of america that Mejía “is an excellent professional highly qualified to hold that position”.

In a summary published by the IDB this day, it is indicated that Mejía, “as interim President, is the legal representative and Chief Executive Officer of the institution, responsible for the management and daily operations of the Bank for the private sector.

In addition, he chairs the Executive Board of IDB Invest, the IDB Group’s arm for the private sector, and the IDB Lab Donors Committee, the Bank’s laboratory for innovative development projects.

Long career in the private sector

Before coming to the IDB, Reina Irene Mejía Chacón, worked for 25 years at Citibank Honduras, with positions of general director, and head of Corporate and Investment Banking, since 2013.

She also served as president of the Board of Directors of Citicrédito and Citi-Inmobiliaria, and secretary of the Board of Directors of Banco de Honduras; Among her positions in the region is her appointment in 2017 as secretary of the Board of Directors of the Citibank Costa Rica Financial Group to work with institutional clients in Honduras and Nicaragua, according to her resume.

The interim president of the IDB completed her studies for both a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business administration at Southern Illinois University.

Outside the banking sector, Mejía Chacón has held senior management positions at the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean (AACCLA).

According to the IDB, the Honduran-born official, before arriving in the US capital, “held managerial and executive positions in different financial institutions and educations in Honduras and has actively participated in a wide range of women’s business leadership initiatives.”

Also in surgery campaigns for children with congenital problems of cleft lip and cleft palate, among other actions as a founding member of Operations Smile Chapter Honduras.

The Honduran newspaper El Heraldo reported Tuesday that the compatriot “has been considered one of the most powerful and influential women in Latin America on several occasions.”

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