People in the news

Jose W. Fernandez

Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs (since Jan. 2010)

(State.gov)

More on: Jose W. Fernandez

 

At a Glance

  • Career History: Partner, Latham and Watkins (2006 to 2009)
  • Hometown: Cuba
  • Alma Mater: Dartmouth College, B.A., 1977, Columbia Law School, J.D., 1980; Dartmouth College, MA, 2002
 

Path to Power

Fernandez was born in Cuba. He attended Dartmouth University, where he studied history, wrote for the student newspaper and sat on the student Committee on Student Life. He was also an avid outdoorsman. "I came from pretty much an urban setting, and I really tried to take advantage of the rural aspects of Dartmouth," Fernandez told The Dartmouth in May 2002.

Fernandez graduated from Dartmouth in 1977 andmoved to New York to pursue his J.D. from Columbia Law School. After graduating in 1980, he worked for a law firm in Spain while also pursuing a professional basketball career.

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The Issues

,a(R)During his three decades in law, Fernandez has addressed some of the most challenging legal issues in Latin America. He has handled complex acquisitions for corporations and private equity firms and has advised on financings and privatizations, among other issues. He has also worked with several of the region's major industries and was involved in half the telecommunications privatizations in Latin America.

Latin America and the U.S. ,a(R)"Latin America is not Washington's to lose; nor is it Washington's to save." That was the conclusion of a Council on Foreign Relations-sponsored report 'A New Direction in Latin America' that Fernandez helped to write. The sweeping report concludes that the U.S .is no longer the most important influence in Latin America. "If there was an era of U.S. hegemony in Latin America, it is over," the report concludes.

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The Network

Fernandez sat on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) with Maria Otero, the current under secretary for democracy and global affairs. He sat on several CFR panels with R. Rand Beers, under secretary for national protection and programs at the Department of Homeland Security and Otero, former ACCION head and current under secretary for democracy and global affairs. He also served on ACCION's board.

At the State Department, Fernandez will work for Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy Philip Verveer.

 

Additional Resources

  1. Dartmouth Trustee web site
  2. Rosman, Katherine, "The Stone Age of networking lives on," Toronto Globe and Mail, Dec. 1, 2007
  3. State Department web site
  4. "A New Direction for Latin America," Council of Foreign Relations, May 30, 2008
  5. Joseph, Drew, "Fernandez '77 to join Obama admin," The Dartmouth Staff, July 24, 2009
  6. Pasquarelli, Adrianne, "Executive Moves," Crain's New York Business, July 3, 2006
  7. "Mayor Bloomberg and Latino International Theater Festival, Inc. Announce Launch of TeatroStageFest," NYC.gov, March 29, 2007