Ricardo Hausmann is a former Venezuelan Minister of Planning and Head of the “Presidential Office of Coordination and Planning” (1992–1993) and current Director of Harvard’s Center for International Development and a Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Hausmann earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Applied Physics (1977) and a PhD in Economics (1981) at Cornell University. Before coming to Harvard in 2000, he served as the first Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank (1994–2000), where he created the Research Department. He has served as Minister of Planning of Venezuela (1992–1993) and as a member of the Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela. He also served as Chair of the IMF-World Bank Development Committee. He was Professor of Economics at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion (IESA) (1985–1991) in Caracas, where he founded the Center for Public Policy.
