Pope Francis has named Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
This appointment, along with those of Professor Pedro Morandé Court and Professor Kokunre Adetokunbo Agbontaen Eghafona, to the same Academy was published in a bulletin of the Holy See Press Office, today July 10, 2020.
Born in Rome on Sept. 13, 1947, Mario Draghi graduated in Economics from the University of La Sapienza and obtained his doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1981, he became Full Professor of Economics and Monetary Policy at the «Cesare Alfieri» Faculty of the University of Florence. He was Executive Director of the World Bank and later General Manager of the Treasury of the Italian Government. He was Governor of the Bank of Italy from 2005 to 2011 and President of the Financial Stability Board from 2006 to 2011 when he became President of the European Central Bank until 2019. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and the Gruppo dei Trenta (G30).
He is also author of numerous publications, with contributions ranging from macroeconomics to international economics and monetary policy.
Professor Pedro Morandé Court is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
Born in Santiago, Chile, on Aug. 3, 1948, he would go on to get his degree in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC) and a doctorate in Sociology from the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany). In the UC, he was Full Professor and then Head of the Department of Sociology (1987-1990), Pro Rector (1990-1995), Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (1995 to 2014) and is currently Professor Emeritus. He specialized in Sociology of culture and religion and in Sociology of the Family with particular regard to the Latin American people and its social history. He has published numerous articles concerning the family and cultural identity of Latin America.
The distinguished Prof. Kokunre Adetokunbo Agbontaen Eghafona is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Benin, Nigeria, and was born on Oct. 1, 1959 in London.
She studied at the University of Benin, in Benin City, obtaining a degree in History and subsequently a Master of Arts . He also obtained a Master of Science in Archeology and Anthropology from the University of Ibadan, in Ibadan, Nigeria. In the University of Benin, she has been Professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology since 1992; has become Senior Lecturer in 1996, Associate Professor in 2003, Full Professor in 2008; and has also held numerous administrative positions including: Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (2009-2013) and Director of part-time programs (2016).
She was also responsible for sustainable development within the United Nations Sustainable Solutions Network (2012-2017). She is the author of numerous academic publications. Her current scientific activities include measures to combat human trafficking in Nigeria.
