Congressional Veteran Brian Dean Hopes To Help Rekindle Freetrade Talks As New President Of Florida Ftaa Inc

With Jorge Arrizurieta moving from president of Florida FTAA Inc., designed to secure Miami as the location of the permanent secretariat of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, a successor was sought in a nationwide search. The pact, meanwhile, remains over the horizon as talks have bogged down.

Chosen for the Miami-based post with the title of executive director was someone with a longstanding commitment to close US-Latin American relations, representative democracy and a market-based economy.

He is Brian Dean, 40, for four years regional program director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Washington-based International Republican Institute. He has helped bring electoral democracy to formerly conflict-torn Guatemala and Peru, emerging from the Alberto Fujimori authoritarian rule. Before that, Mr. Dean served 10 years with Wisconsin Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr.

Mr. Dean, told of his goals in his new role at Florida FTAA, which he is set to assume Monday, in a telephone interview from his Washington office with Miami Today international editor Michael Hayes. This is an excerpt from the weekly profile article published in Miami Today. To read the entire article in full, order this issue or subscribe to the print edition of Miami Today. Advertisement