Colombian envoy to U.S. to lead development bank

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON - The U.S.-backed Colombian ambassador to Washington was chosen as the new president of the Latin America's biggest lender in a swift election Wednesday that was not as politically charged as initially anticipated.

Luis Alberto Moreno, 52, won a five-year term that starts Oct. 1 as head of the Inter-American Development Bank.
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His landslide victory, receiving 20 of 28 votes from nations in the Americas that belong to the IDB, was viewed as a testament to his strong campaign to overcome misgivings from nations leery of supporting a Washington-backed candidate.

Just three months ago, elections for a new secretary of the Organization of American States turned into a blow to the Bush administration.
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The IDB vote was secret, but analysts who tracked it said the eight nations that apparently did not back Moreno were Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Suriname, Haiti, Chile and Peru.

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