Maxima – Busy at Work

The people of The Netherlands quickly came to adore the young, attractive Argentinian economist Maxima Zorreguieta who married their Crown Prince Prince Wilem-Alexander in 2002. Trained as a private banker with a good understanding of emerging markets, she is the daughter of a former minister of Agriculture. Her father’s connection with the Junta of the late 1970s meant that her parents were not present at the wedding and watched her become Queen Consort in April 2013 on television at home. Maxima said that she was ‘at peace’ with the decision understanding that the occasion was a constitutional celebration.

Maxima is our hero not only because of the sterling work she has done over the years in the cause of financial inclusiveness but also for the skill with which she has carried out significant work alongside her duties as a member of the Royal Family. Our hope is that she will be able to continue to support this very worthy cause now that she is Queen and it does seems likely. Maxima appears to be very comfortable with and serious about the work she does in the limelight and could be a role model for other young royals. She is one of the few royal supporters of gay rights and has also done useful work to assist the integration of immigrants into Dutch society.

“At present there are 2,700 million people in the world without access to a financial service; that is to say 50% of the world population does not have access to financial basics, they can’t save, they can’t use money to invest, they can’t generate profits, and sometimes they can’t buy food for their children.”

In 2009, Maxima became the United Nation’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. She has described financial inclusivity as ‘universal access to a range of financial services for everyone needing them, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable financial institutions’. Two years after the UN appointment, Maxima became Honoury President of the Global alliance of G-20 for Financial Inclusion.