GALA 2009: Honorees

Excellence in Service Award

The Honorable Fidel Herrera Beltrán
Governor of the State of Veracruz

Fidel Herrera Beltrán has devoted his life to public service.   He was elected governor of the Mexican state of Veracruz in 2004.  As governor, he has championed the reform and increased transparency of public institutions, particularly the electoral process.  In order to encourage citizens of Veracruz to remain in their home state, Governor Herrera Beltrán has implemented a sustainable model for growth and has been working to attract new industries that would provide better jobs in Veracruz.  With his wife Rosa Borunda de Herrera, he also launched a successful program to improve air and water quality and to preserve natural resources in Veracruz, which is the source of 33 percent of Mexico’s fresh water.

As a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he was elected to the Mexican Congress four times, where he led diplomatic delegations to international conferences in Europe, Africa, and Latin America.  He also headed a Mexican delegation to the United States to lobby for greater Mexican sugar exports as part of NAFTA.  As a senator representing Veracruz, he was president of the Legislative Studies Commission and the Sugar Industry Commission.

Born in Veracruz, Mexico, Governor Fidel Herrera Beltrán earned his law degree from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and received his master’s degree from the University of Veracruz.

The Honorable Norm Dicks (D-WA)	The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)	His Excellency Welile Nhlapo	The Honorable Edward Rendell

Gala Award Descriptions (pdf)

The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars is an independent, non-profit educational organization founded in 1975.  Its mission is to prepare college and university students for civic leadership through experiential education.  In this way, The Washington Center seeks to promote future leadership for the private, public and nonprofit sectors of society.  It has served approximately 40,000 students from close to 1,000 colleges and universities located in the United States and around the world.  For additional information, please visit our website at www.twc.edu.