Renowned economist and former President of Mexico, keynote speaker Ernesto Zedillo remains a titan of international diplomacy. A brilliant keynote speaker, Ernesto Zedillo conveys a lifetime of research and service in the engaging terms that make him a brilliant professor.

Ernesto Zedillo is the Frederick Iseman ’74 Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. He is also a professor of international economics and politics, international and area studies, and environmental studies at Yale. Zedillo teaches two popular undergraduate seminars, Debating Globalization and The Economic Evolution and Challenges of the Latin American and Caribbean Countries.

His lectures draw on a remarkable career in public service. After earning his undergraduate degree from Mexico’s National Polytechnic Institute and his PhD from Yale, Zedillo returned to Mexico. He taught at his alma mater and at el Colegio de México before joining Mexico’s central bank. From there, he served as Mexico’s Undersecretary of Budget and then as its Secretary of Economic Programming and the Budget. In 1992, he was named Mexico’s Secretary of Education, which he remained before running successfully for president.

Since Mexico’s presidents may not run for reelection, Zedillo turned his attentions to global initiatives following his term in office. He co-chaired the Partnership of the Americas Commission and the Commission on Drugs and Democracy. He has been especially active with UN-related organizations. Zedillo chaired the commission that planned the future of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Global Development Network. Vice Chair of the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy, and Security, he also co-chaired the Regional Migration Study Group.

Zedillo now chairs the Natural Resource Governance Institute and the 21^st Century Advisory Council of the Beggruen Institute on Governance. He co-chairs the Inter-American Dialogue and serves on the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

As a member of the G30 and The Elders, Zedillo turns his experience, talents, and insight to resolving global challenges.