Edward Philip George Seaga served as the Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1980 to 1989. Born in Boston to Jamaican parents, he moved to Jamaica when he was three months old. He completed his schooling in Jamaica yet moved to America in the late 1940′s to complete his university degree at Harvard University. He graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Social Sciences. He then chose to accept a research post at the University of West Indies where his research instilled in him an interest in Jamaican music. From 1955 onwards he began to produce and supervise album recordings and subsequently formed West India Records Limited. He went on to become one of the most successful music producers in the region with his record company achieving great success. His focus then shifted to politics, and at the age of 29 he became the youngest member in the history of the Legislative Council to be nominated to serve in the Upper House of the Jamaica Legislature. In 1962 he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Member of Parliament for West Kingston, a seat he held for 43 years. Following his election he became the Minister of Welfare and Development from 1962 until 1967. He was then appointed Finance Minister before becoming the Leader of the Jamaican Labour Party. In the 1980 elections, the Jamaican Labour Party won the majority of seats and Mr Seaga was elected Prime Minister. During his presidency he established the Jamaica Festival, featuring an annual showcase of Jamaica’s music and culture. He was also instrumental in a number of successful anti-poverty, urban development and education aid programmes and was also one of the initiators of the Caribbean Basin Initiative which was sponsored by Ronald Reagan. He also implemented a range of new financial institutions which were aimed at building a financial market for successful economic growth and investment. These included the Agricultural Credit Bank, the Export/Import Bank and the Self Start Fund. In January 2005 Mr Seaga retired as Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, choosing to focus on research and writing.

Dr Cayetano Nino Rota is the current President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Production (CCIAI) of Argentina. Dr Rota has worked for CCIAI for 25 years and throughout his lengthy career he has strived to foster good business practices and community involvement, contribute to an increased quality of life and helping to create a diverse, cultural and entrepreneurial opportunities for all Argentinians. Dr Rota’s efforts in promoting the CCIAI’s goals also earned the Chamber Special Consultative Status from the United Nations in 1996. He also developed structured academic lessons for professors and teachers around the world who work in the fields of industry and development. It was because of his lesson plans and knowledge of the industry that today, CACIPRA, operates as an education centre as well, offering education in tourism, international trade, customs administration and technical development.

Carlos Alberto Lleras Restrepo was a Colombian politician who served as President from 1966 until 1970. Born in Bogota in 1908, he studied Law at the Universida Nacional de Colombia, obtaining his degree in 1930. In 1931 he was elected to the State Senate of Cundinamarca and subsequently became a Congressman in the House of Representatives. In 1938 he was appointed the Minister of Finance whilst also accepting the position of Chair of Public Finance in the Faculty of Law at the National University. In 1942 he was elected to the position of Senator and later, Chairman of the Liberal Party. He ran unsuccessfully for President in 1944 but went on to win the election in 1966. He became President during a difficult political situation which was due to the fact that he wanted to increase presidential powers so he could act independently. The economic situation was also fragile as the liberalisation of imports in 1965 meant that the cost of goods purchased abroad had dramatically increased. International reserves were low and the price of coffee, which was their main export, had indicated that a downward trend was beginning. Mr Lleras, however, implemented a programme of economic reforms to counteract this, including; controlling foreign investments, abolishing the system of free imports, creating the national savings fund and the agency to promote exports as well as the institute to protect non-renewable sources. He also embarked on an overhaul of social policies, creating the Colombian institute for Family Wellbeing, the National Agency of Colombian Culture and the National Agency for the Construction of Schools. His presidential term was, and still is, known for its constant activity and attempts to interact with the Colombian people. His foreign policy also sought to increase trade and diplomatic relations with a wider range of countries and he renewed Colombia’s relations with the Soviet Union.

Asociacion Latinoamericana de Integracion (ALADI) is the largest trade integration society in Latin America. It is comprised of thirteen member countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Its aims are to establish a common market as well as oversee the economic and social development of Latin America. ALADI began as the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) following the 1960 Treaty of Montevideo and initially the member countries were Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Their initial aim was to remove all restrictions of trade in Latin America within 12 years. By the 1960′s the combination of LAFTA’s member countries had a population of 220 million people and produced around $90 billion of goods and services annually. LAFTA had restrictions however, and unlike the EU, there was little political or economic integration. In order to rectify this LAFTA, in 1980, became known as ALADI and increased the membership to include other Latin American countries. ALADI is now responsible for regulations on foreign trade within Latin America and their aim for a common market is driven by three strategies. The organisation grants a regional tariff preference to products originating in member countries, regional scope agreement amongst member countries and partial scope agreements amongst two or more countries of the area. ALADI importance is demonstrated through the co-operative approach it takes towards worldwide integration movements and its continuing encouragement and support of third world countries to develop their integration into the globalised world.

Arturo Uslar Pietri was a renowned Venezuelan writer and politician. Born in Caracas in 1906, his interest in politics and literature began at an early age with examples of his work present in Venezuelan newspapers from 1922. He attended the Universidad Central De Venezuela, studying at the Faculty of Law and after graduating he formed the Avant Garde Valve Magazine with Fernando Paz Castillo and Miguel Otero Silva in 1928. To avoid the fate of imprisonment, which many other young writers were enduring due to protests against the Gomez regime, Mr Pietri began working at the Venezuelan embassy in Paris. He returned to Caracas in 1934 to continue his literary pursuits and to embark on his own political career. He served as the Education Minister from 1939 to 1941, as well as the Finance Minister in 1943 and the Interior Minister in 1945. He also held the position of Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic from 1941 to 1943 and was elected Deputy to the Legislative Assembly in 1944. Over a number of years he was also a regular contributor to the newspaper El Nacional. He also held many academic positions during his career, including Professor of Political Economy at Universidad Central de Venezuela and Professor of Spanish American Literature at Columbia University. His protest against political corruption in Spain led to his forced exile to New York in 1945. It was, however, during this time that he published the novel ‘The Road to El Dorado’ and the storybook ‘Thirty Men and Their Shadows’. Upon his return to Venezuela he served as Senator in Congress and later, unsuccessfully, launched a campaign to be President of the Republic in 1963. From 1975 to 1979 Mr Uslar Pietri served as the Venezuelan Ambassador for UNESCO. Over the subsequent years he devoted himself to his literature and in 1980 he published a collection of short stories, including what would become his most renowned pieces of literature; ‘Robinson Crusoe Island’ and ‘Visit in Time.’ The success and popularity of these two novels won Mr Uslar Pietri numerous literary awards and an increased international audience.

Antonio Ortiz Mena was a Mexican economist and politician who held numerous government posts over the course of his career. He studied Law before working in the Mexican banking sector, at the Department of the Federal District and The National Urban Mortgage Bank. He served as Deputy Director of the National Mortgage Bank from 1946 to 1952, and later, he was appointed Director-General of the Mexican Institute of Social Security. He then became the Mexican Secretary of Finance and Public Credit in 1958, and retained this position until 1970. He oversaw a period of sustained economic growth and development in Mexico and was credited with helping usher in the ‘Mexican Miracle’, which elevated millions of Mexicans into the middle class. He went on to become President of the Inter-American Development Bank, leading it for seventeen years. During his leadership the Inter-American Development Bank dramatically increased their lending and he assisted in diversifying their operations, concentrating on Latin American infrastructure projects and financing for microenterprises. Following his resignation in 1988, Mr Ortiz Mena became the Director of Banamex, one of Mexico’s biggest commercial banks. He died in 2007 at the age of 99.