JOSE PINERA
Former Minister of Labor and Social Security of Chile
Jose Pinera is the master architect of Chile's socio-economic transformation.
While Labor Minister of Chile, from 1978-1980, Pinera won a victory for
capitalism and freedom when he devised and implemented what Investor's Business
Daily calls "the world's most successful privatized pension system." A reformer
with results, Pinera has been called upon for his expertise by President George
W. Bush and the United States Congress. He has been featured in The Wall Street
Journal, The Washington Post and The Economist.
As founder and President of the International Center for Pension Reform, Piņera
has advised many governments on the process of economic liberalization.
Pinera's economic initiatives have commenced a worldwide paradigm shift, with
seven other Latin American countries and three European countries, including
Sweden, following his Chilean pension model. Bipartisan American interest has
been shown for Pinera's valuable reforms. Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the
Federal Reserve, and Milton Friedman, one of the world's best-known economists,
are among those who have expressed support for Pinera's reforms.
Full of passion, and the need to share the success of his country's economic
rebirth, Pinera reveals his solution for the United States. With the coming
retirement of the baby boom generation and the issues raised by the Enron
debacle, Pinera's message of individual responsibility and transparency is more
important than ever. From the podium, Pinera's animated presence and
international experience give vigor and diversity to complex economic issues,
while demonstrating that solutions do exist.
As Minister of Labor and Social Security for Chile, Pinera set up a funded
pension system to replace his country's bankrupt pay-as-you-go scheme. This
action laid the groundwork for the country's economic revitalization and
political opening. As Minister of Mining (1981), he introduced the mining
reform that established property rights in this key sector of the Chilean
economy.
Pinera is a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Cato Institute, a non-profit
public policy research foundation, where he is also co-chair of the
organization's Project on Social Security Choice and is a member of the
Advisory Board of the Trade Policy Center.
Pinera holds a masters and doctorate in Economics from Harvard University. He
has published numerous articles and is the author of six books.