Henrique Meirelles

Who is Henrique Meirelles?

Henrique de Campos Meirelles is the former president of Banco Central do Brasil, Brazil's central bank. In 2002 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil's congressional lower house, as a Goiás-state PSDB party congressman. However, Meirelles resigned before swearing in to be able to assume his current position in January 2003.

Born in Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil, Mr Meirelles earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of São Paulo in 1972 and an MBA from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - Coppead two years later. He attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 1984. Meirelles also holds an honorary degree from Bryant College, Rhode Island, USA. He spent most of his working career at BankBoston, where he rose to be president of the bank's Brazilian operation, from 1984 to 1996. In 1996, he became President and Chief Operating Officer of BankBoston Corporation and in 1999 was named President of Global Banking for FleetBoston Financial. He has also held academic council positions at various American universities, including Harvard and Boston College.