Ruth de Krivoy is a highly influential Venezuelan macroeconomist who specializes in the dynamics between monetary and fiscal policy and politics, as well as economic crisis resolution. Through her decades-long career in monetary policy and public service, she has paved the way for women in economics in Venezuela.

Krivoy was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 2, 1942. At the age of 22, she became the first woman to graduate summa cum laude from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, earning her degree in economics. Krivoy first became involved with the Venezuelan Central Bank in the 1970s, serving as the Vice President of Research and providing critical information on economic conditions to advise the bank’s monetary policy. Concurrently, she served on boards of many private firms and government agencies and advised government committees on foreign debt reconstruction. In these various positions, she drove state and fiscal sector economic reform, both domestically and across Latin America.

In 1992, Krivoy was appointed President of the Venezuelan Central Bank, making her the first woman to hold this position. As president, she was crucial in establishing and maintaining the bank’s independence. While she was president, Venezuela experienced a severe banking crisis that contributed to a wave of bankruptcies and distorted public finances; Krivoy focused on monetary stability and confidence during the increasingly tumultuous economic times. She resigned the position in 1994.

Krivoy has also greatly contributed to economics research in her role as the head of the Monetary Theory and Policy department at the Universidad Central’s Economics school. Her book, Collapse (2000), details the financial crisis of 1994, and she has published extensively on financial crisis management, economic stability, the benefits and drawbacks of globalization, and the need for coherence between politics and economics. As of 2025, Krivoy advises the Financial Stability Institute of the BIS and the Latin-American Shadow Regulatory Financial Committee. According to GlobalSource Partners, where Krivoy serves as Venezuela Country Analyst, her “intimate knowledge of politics and policy in Venezuela ensures a nuanced perspective that is unconstrained by corporate or political considerations.” 

Sources: 

“GlobalSource Partners: Ruth Krivoy, Venezuela.” GlobalSource Partners | Ruth Krivoy, Venezuela. Accessed June 18, 2025. https://www.globalsourcepartners.com/users/ruth-krivoy/profile. 

“Ruth de Krivoy.” Síntesis Financiera, June 9, 2025. https://sintesisfinanciera.com/about-us/the-team/ruth-de-krivoy/. 

“Ruth de Krivoy.” Banco Central de Venezuela. Accessed June 18, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20170309075051/http://www.bcv.org.ve/blanksite/c3/galeria3.asp.