Alexandre Tombini
Alexandre Antônio Tombini | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 9, 1963 Porto Alegre, Brazil |
| Occupation | Economist |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Known for | President of the Central Bank of Brazil (2011–2016) |
Alexandre Antônio Tombini (born December 9, 1963) is an economist from Brazil who held the position of President of the Central Bank from January 2011 until June 9, 2016, after which Ilan Goldfajn took over. Since September 2019, he has been serving as the Chief Representative for the Americas at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), stationed in Mexico City.
Academic life
Tombini earned his Economics degree from the University of Brasília in 1984 and completed his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1991.
Career
Most of Tombini’s professional experience has been within Brazil’s federal government. Between 1991 and 1995, he was part of the Ministry of Finance, where he led negotiations concerning the Common External Tariff (CET) for Mercosur. From 1995 until 1998, he acted as a special advisor to both the Board of Foreign Trade and the Chief of Staff of the Presidency, playing a role in strategies aimed at reducing inflation in 1999.
Beginning in 1998, Tombini joined the Central Bank of Brazil, occupying roles such as Director of International Affairs and Director of Special Studies by 2006. Between 2001 and 2005, he represented Brazil at the International Monetary Fund, serving as a Senior Advisor and member of its Executive Board. His responsibilities have also included heading research at the Central Bank and coordinating foreign affairs within the Ministry of Finance. He possesses expertise in managing econometric modeling and overseeing economic publication editing.
In November 2010, President Dilma Rousseff appointed Tombini to succeed Henrique Meirelles as President of the Central Bank, with the mandate to uphold economic policies established during Lula’s administration. He prioritized maintaining operational independence while focusing on inflation control, aiming to keep annual inflation below 4.5% and preserving the purchasing power of the Brazilian real. Early in his presidency, he lowered interest rates from 12.5% down to 7.5%, although his term coincided with a period of economic deceleration in Brazil.