Emilio Goicoechea was born in Mazatlan, Sinaloa on October 22nd, 1948 and is a graduate of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Business Administration. He has enjoyed a varied career in the private sector as President and associate of many businesses dedicated to foreign trade, investment services, investment banking, industrial production, real estate and project development, and construction of low-income housing.
In addition to his business activities he has served as President of the "Confederación Nacional de Cámaras de Comercio" (CONCANACO, Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce); member of the "Consejo Coordinador Empresarial" (CCE, Entrepreneurial Coordinating Council); President of the "Instituto Mexicano de Mercadotecnia A.C." (Mexican Marketing Institute), and Permanent Guest to the Council of the "Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana" (COPARMEX, Employers' Confederation of Mexico).
He has been advisor to the "Centro de Estudios Económicos del Sector Privado" (CEESP, Center of Economic Studies of the Private Sector), the "Instituto Mexicano de Comercio Exterior" (IMCE, Mexican Institute of Foreign Trade), the "Comisión Nacional de Valores" (CNV), the "Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social" (IMSS, Mexican Institute of Social Security), the "Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores" (INFONAVIT), the "Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo" (FONATUR, National Trusteeship for the Promotion of Tourism), "Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México" (FMN, National Railroads of Mexico), the "Fideicomiso para el Desarrollo Comercial del Banco de México" (FIDEC, Trusteeship for the Commercial Development of the Bank of Mexico), the "Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior" (BANCOMEXT, National Bank of Foreign Trade), the "Asociación Nacional de Importadores y Exportadores de la República Mexicana" (National Association of Importers and Exporters of Mexico) and the "Confederación Nacional de Cámaras Industriales" (CONCAMIN, National Confederation of Chambers of Industry).
Emilio Goicoechea has been an active member of the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) for 36 years, and has served in various positions on local and state councils, as well as the National Council, and has been a member of the PAN National Executive Committee (CEN) since 1996.
From 1994 to 2000 he was Senator of the Republic and from 2000 to 2003 he served as a Federal Congressman. During his legislative terms he participated in the drafting of the new laws for telecommunications, civil aviation and airports. He played important roles in the privatization processes of airports, railroads, the satellite industry and ports; he also participated in the creation of the National Development Plan on Telecommunications. He participated actively in the parliamentary group that drafted the final version of the Navigation Bill.
His civic and social activities include serving as President of the Foundation of Firefighters of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, and representing the business community for 10 years on the Commission for Minimum Wage. In addition, he was treasurer of the foundation for the Mazatlan Carnival and is the current President of the Association of Scouts of Mexico.
The honours and awards he has received include "Executive of the Year" granted by the Chamber of Commerce of Acapulco, the Key to the city of Miami, "The Golden Eagle" from the Institute for Promotion of Free Enterprise, and many others.
He was appointed by President Vicente Fox in 2003 as Undersecretary of Tourism and was invited from 2004 to 2006 to serve as his Chief of Staff.
On January 22, 2007 he was appointed by President Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mexico to Canada, and presented his Letters of Credence to the Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, on March 22, 2007.
