U. alum elected Panama pres.

Wharton alumnus Ernesto Perez Balladares was elected president of Panama last Sunday, defeating six other candidates in the first Panama presidential election since the 1989 U.S. invasion. "We're excited," Interim President Claire Fagin said this week. "But not surprised." Balladares won the election by capturing one-third of the popular vote. Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity said he is very excited that a Wharton alum was selected to lead the small, Spanish-speaking country. "It's terrific," he said. "Our objective always has been to educate future leaders in every realm." He added that Wharton's "track record confirms this." Wharton Associate Dean of International Relations Jeffrey Sheehan said Balladares, a graduate of the class of 1970, was elected president during the same week that a 1958 Wharton M.B.A. recipient, Yoshio Terasawa, was elected cabinet minister in the Economic Planning Agency of Japan. Pridyathorn Devakula, a classmate of Balladares, was also recently appointed import/export president of the Bank of Thailand, Sheehan said. But, he added that it is a particularly "momentous occasion when the first Wharton graduate is elected chief of a country." He said the "international perspectives and good language skills" of the three Wharton alumni also paved the road to their accomplishments. Emeritus Finance Professor Morris Mendelson was teaching at Wharton while Balladares was a student. Although Mendelson does not remember Balladares personally, he said it is "always nice to hear when your students succeed -- and I would imagine being elected president of a country, even if it's a small country, is success." Before being elected president, Balladares served in the ministries of treasury and economic policies under the populist dictator, General Omar Torrijos. Balladares directed the 1989 presidential campaign of Carlos Duque, the candidate for General Manuel Antonio Noriega, who is serving a 40-year prison sentence in Florida for drug trafficking. Earlier this year, Luis Donaldo Colosio, who received a master's degree in regional development from the University, was selected by Mexico's ruling party as its presidential candidate for the 1994 election. Colosio was assassinated in March.