Johnson and Cornell Welcome Panama President Ricardo Martinelli

The president will discuss development in his Latin American country at a public lecture on April 11, 2013

Ricardo Martinelli, president of the Republic of Panama, will discuss the economy and culture of his nation during the keynote address of the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs 2013 Spring Colloquium Series. President Martinelli will deliver the address, “Development in Panama,” Thursday, April 11, from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in Call Auditorium of Kennedy Hall on the Cornell University campus.

The event is co-sponsored by the Emerging Markets Institute of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, the Office of the Vice Provost for International Relations, the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and the Latin American Studies Program.

It is open only to members of the Cornell community. Admission is by ticket only; a limited number of tickets are available free of charge to the Johnson community. Please see Andrea Sherwood in Room 248 by Monday, April 8 if you would like to attend the President’s address. Members of the Cornell community, the public, and media who cannot attend can access this talk via live streaming.

Martinelli was elected president of Panama in 2009 in a landslide victory. Described as a kind-hearted humanist and visionary leader, Martinelli is also a successful businessman, who owns “Super 99,” one of the largest supermarket chains in his country.  In addition to his political and business interests, Martinelli served as director of the Panamanian Chamber of Commerce, president of the Association of Food Merchants of Panama, the Italo-Panamanian Chamber, and is a member of the Asociación Panameña de Ejecutivos de Empresa (Panamanian Association of Business Executives).