Pérsio Arida

Pérsio Arida
Arida at the Brazil's China Connection by Financial Times, in New York, October 2011
Chair of the Central Bank
In office
11 January 1995  13 June 1995
PresidentFernando Henrique Cardoso
Preceded byPedro Malan
Succeeded byGustavo Loyola
Chair of the Brazilian Development Bank
In office
3 September 1993  31 December 1994
PresidentItamar Franco
Preceded byLuis Carlos Delben Leite
Succeeded byEdmar Bacha
Personal details
Born (1952-03-01) 1 March 1952
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
SpouseElena Landau
Children2
Parents
  • Riad Arida (father)
  • Alice Farah (mother)
Alma materUniversity of São Paulo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Pérsio Arida (born 1 March 1952 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian economist and a former president of the Central Bank of Brazil.

He has a bachelor's degree in economics from University of São Paulo and a Ph.D. in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He has served the Brazilian government by taking part in the crafting of the Plano Real; more specifically, he was one of the creators of the Unidade Real de Valor, a non-monetary currency and the most sophisticated and theoretical piece of the Plano Real. In 1995, he served as the president of the Central Bank of Brazil and Special Secretary of Social-Economic Coordination, Ministry of Planning. In the private sector, he was a board member of Banco Itaú Holding Financeira S.A. and Banco Itaú S.A., board member of Sul-América S.A, director of Opportunity Asset Management Ltda., board member of Unibanco S.A. and special adviser for the presidency and director of Brasil Warrant Ltd. Since the 1970s, he has also worked as an economic and financial consultant.

As of 2008, he is working as a member of the executive council of the Moreira Salles Institute.

He is also a member of the International Advisory Board at the Blavatnik School of Government (University of Oxford) and a member of the Academic Board of Livres.

Personally, he is also a fan of classical music.