LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections proudly presents Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, Panama Canal Authority Administrator, as the honored speaker of the Mary Ann Faulkner Distinguished Lecture Series in Latin American Public Affairs and Politics. The lecture will be followed by a conversation with Dean JR DeShazo, LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Dr. Vásquez is a Panamanian economist with an extensive and successful professional career of 50 years in both the government sector and private companies in financial, economic, and administrative management. He was appointed Administrator of the Panama Canal Authority for a seven-year period starting September 2019.

Within the public administration, he has held prominent positions such as Minister of Finance and Treasury, Minister of Planning and Economic Policy, as well as of Economy and Finance in 2004. He was the first non-U.S. Chief Financial Officer for the Panama Canal and later Deputy Administrator and President of the Board of Directors.

In the private sector, his experience covers banking at Chase Manhattan Bank, mining development with Rio Tinto Zinc in the development of the Cerro Colorado copper project, and, more recently, at General Electric with regional responsibilities and covering Gas-to-Power initiatives in Latin America, retiring in 2015 to carry out his professional practice with SIGMA Management Advisors Corp.

Dr. Vásquez holds a PhD and MS from Rensselaer Polytechnic, a ME from North Carolina State University, and a BS from Villanova University. He has been a professor of Economics and Finance in Panama and abroad. 

Free and open to the public. Public parking available in Manor Garage. Seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.