Jorge Desormeaux
Jorge Desormeaux Jiménez is a Chilean economist, academic, and consultant. He served as Vice President and board member of the Central Bank of Chile.
He participated in the design and implementation of Chile’s pension reform that established the private system of Pension Funds. In the late 1970s, he worked alongside José Piñera Echenique and other economists on the development of a pension system based on individual capitalization and private administration of pension funds.
Between December 1999 and December 2009, Desormeaux served as a member of the Board of the Central Bank of Chile, including a term as Vice President from 2007 to 2009.
Early life and education
Desormeaux was born in Recoleta, Santiago. His father, Jorge Desormeaux Beaudout, was an officer of the Chilean Army and the son of a French immigrant, while his mother, Nora Jiménez Giebhardt, was of German descent. Following his father’s death in 1955, the family relocated to Valdivia.He attended the German School of Santiago, where he met his future wife, Evelyn Matthei. He later studied commercial engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, graduating in 1973 as the top-ranked student of his class.
Desormeaux pursued graduate studies in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Fulbright scholar, though he did not complete a doctoral degree. During this period, he was a contemporary of economist Paul Krugman.
Professional career
Desormeaux taught economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, including courses in macroeconomics, monetary economics, and economic policy. He also served as an instructor at MIT and Harvard University.In the private sector, he worked as an economic consultant for national and international firms across sectors including banking, mining, agriculture, industry, and transport. He also advised public institutions such as the National Institute of Statistics (Chile), the World Bank, and financial institutions including Banco Santander Chile.
Public service
In 1999, Desormeaux was appointed to the Board of the Central Bank of Chile following approval by the Senate of Chile.In 2010, during the first administration of President Sebastián Piñera, he chaired an advisory commission on financial regulation and supervision.
From May 2019 to May 2022, he served as President of Chile’s Autonomous Fiscal Council.