President Adolfo López Mateos

A lawyer, he became active in the Mexican government party. He served as senator (1946–52) and as minister of labor (1952–58), during which time he settled more than 13,000 disputes. As president, he fostered industrial growth and diversification, attracted large amounts of foreign capital, and presided over an economic boom. He instituted profit sharing for workers and promoted agrarian reform. Maintaining close relations with the United States, he negotiated with President John F. Kennedy the return to Mexico of a long-disputed 437-acre (177-hectares) border strip along the Texas boundary. After retiring as president, he headed the committee that arranged for the 1968 Olympic games to be held in Mexico City.