Eduardo Aguirre

Eduardo Aguirre, Jr. (born July 30, 1946, in Cuba)cite web
title = Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre, Jr.
publisher = Embassy of the United States - Spain
date = 2006-08-04
url = http://madrid.usembassy.gov/emba/ambaguirreen.html
accessdate = 2006-08-13] is the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, appointed by President George W. Bush, confirmed by the United States Senate on June 16, 2005, and sworn in on June 24, 2005.cite web
title = Eduardo Aguirre, Jr.
publisher = US Department of State
date = 2006-07-05
url = http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/48921.htm
accessdate = 2006-08-13] He presented his credentials to King Juan Carlos I of Spain on June 29, 2005.

Government service

Before his appointment as ambassador, Aguirre served, beginning February 7, 2003, as the first Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an Under Secretary rank position in the Department of Homeland Security. At USCIS, Mr. Aguirre led a team of 15,000 employees serving over 6 million annual applicants seeking immigration benefits.cite web
title = Eduardo Aguirre Biography
publisher = US Citizenship and Immigration Services
date = 2006-03-03
url = http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/aguirre_bio.htm
accessdate = 2006-08-13]

Career in banking

Aguirre joined the Department of Homeland Security from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), where he served as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. From December 2001 to December 2002, he was Acting Chairman of this Federal Agency. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Aguirre was President of International Private Banking for Bank of America. He had worked for Bank of America for 24 years.

In Texas

While residing in Texas, Aguirre was appointed by then Governor George W. Bush to the Board of Regents of the University of Houston System for a six-year term, serving from 1996 to 1998 as chairman. Former President George H.W. Bush appointed him to the National Commission for Employment Policy. In 1990, the Supreme Court of Texas appointed him to the State Bar as a non-attorney director. Aguirre has served on numerous professional and civic boards, including the Texas Children's Hospital, Texas Bar Foundation, Operación Pedro Pan Foundation, Bankers Association for Finance and Trade, and the Houston chapters of the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.cite web
title = Flores MBA program
publisher = E.J. Ourso College of Business at LSU
date = 2003-10-24
url = http://mba.lsu.edu/speakerseries/2003/aguirre.asp
accessdate = 2008-06-05]

Honors

Aguirre was bestowed the Order of José Matías Delgado—Grade of Grand Officer—by El Salvador, and the order of Christopher Columbus—Grade of Grand Officer—by the Dominican Republic. The Daughters of the American Revolution awarded him their 2004 Americanism Medal.

Aguirre is a member of the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity.

Education

Aguirre holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University (LSU). He is a graduate of the American Bankers Association's National Commercial Lending Graduate School. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Connecticut, the University of Houston and the Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago in the Dominican Republic.

Aguirre and his wife Terry each emigrated from Cuba as unaccompanied minors at the age of 15. They maintain their permanent home in Houston, where they have lived for three decades. The Aguirres have two grown children, Eddy and Tessie.

References