Felipe Calderón is a former President of Mexico (2006-2012).
Born on 18 August 1962 in Morelia, in the State of Michoacán, Mexico, Mr Calderón obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City. He also graduated with a Masters in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), as well as from the Master of Public Administration program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University in 2000.
Calderón entered politics in his early twenties, serving as the president of the National Action Party (PAN) youth branch. He then went on to serve as the national chairman for the party from 1996 to 1999, and as Federal Congressman in the Chamber of Deputies between 2000 and 2003. Under the presidency of Vicente Fox (PAN), Felipe Calderón was appointed as the director of the state-owned development bank, Banobras, and later, as Secretary of Energy.
Calderon was named the 2011 “Champion of the Earth” for environmental leadership by the United Nations and the 2012 “Statesman of the Year” by the World Economic Forum, among other distinctions. He also holds several honorary titles given to him from countries ranging from Brazil to the United Kingdom. Such titles include the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath, received from Queen Elizabeth II; the Knighthood of the Order of the Elephant, granted by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; and the Grand Cross with Collar from the Order of Isabel the Catholic, bestowed on him by King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
Currently, Calderón is president of the Sustainable Human Development Foundation; member of the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute; Chairman of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, responsible for the 2014 “Better Climate, Better Growth: The New Climate Economy” report; and an Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
