Felipe Calderón served as President of Mexico from 2006 to 2012.

Prior to his presidency, Calderón was Secretary of Energy (and in that capacity Chairman of the Board of PEMEX and CFE) and director of BANOBRAS (Mexico’s public works bank). He was also a Federal Congressman, leader of the National Action Party (PAN) in Congress, as well as Secretary General and National President of PAN.

President Calderón has a law degree from the Escuela Libre de Derecho, a Masters in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he later participated as an Angelopoulos Leadership Fellow.

During his term he had to face critical challenges such as the rise of criminal organizations, severe natural disasters, the H1N1 flu outbreak, falling government revenues and a global economic crisis.

Under his administration the Mexican economy registered stability and growth. Despite the impact of the international economic crisis, he boosted competitiveness in Mexico by deregulating the economy, promoting free trade, competition, private investment and technical education, as well as increasing investment in infrastructure to unprecedented levels. He also led an unmatched effort to enforce the rule of law.

During his tenure, Mexico became one of the most important exporters in the world. When he took office, Mexico was the 9th largest exporter of vehicles in the world, and by the end of his administration it was the 4th largest, surpassing Spain, the UK and the US among others.

President Calderón was the first Latin-American and Second Developing country President chairing the G20 Leaders Summit, the most important global forum for heads of state and government. He also chaired the UN COP 16 Climate Change Conference, which marked a new era of cooperation and a long-term approach for addressing climate change.

He has been named “Statesman of the Year” by the World Economic Forum, and “Champion of the Earth” by the United Nations, he has also received the Teddy Roosevelt International Conservation award and the Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) award, among many others recognitions.

Currently, he is member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), President of Sustainable Human Development Foundation, Member of the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute and Chairman of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

Recently, President Calderón published “Los Retos que Enfrentamos” (The challenges we faced), a book about trial he had to endure as a President and which points out the main policies carried out during his administration. Its appearance has sparked an intense debate on the public policies that Mexico has followed on its path to development, as one of the leading emerging economies.