Pedro Joaquín Coldwell

Born in Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Joaquín Coldwell studied law at the Universidad Iberoamericana. He is the son of Nassin Joaquín Ibarra, a businessman from Cozumel. He is of Lebanese^[3][4] and English descent. His siblings include Addy Joaquín Coldwell, a former member of the Chamber of Deputies, and Carlos Joaquín González, who was governor of Quintana Roo in 2016–2022.^[5]

Joaquín Coldwell has held various positions within the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and in public service. He served as director general of the National Fund for Tourism Development [es] (FONATUR) from 1988 to 1990 and as the party's general secretary in 1994–1995. From 1979 to 1980, he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies representing the Quintana Roo's 1st congressional district. He later served as governor of Quintana Roo from 1981 to 1987. In 1990, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari appointed him Secretary of Tourism, where he served from 1990 to 1993. Joaquín Coldwell also succeeded Marco Antonio Bernal as Peace and Reconciliation Commissioner in Chiapas. In 1998, President Ernesto Zedillo appointed him Ambassador of Mexico to Cuba.^[6]

In the general election held on 2 July 2006, he was elected to the Senate for the PRI, representing the state of Quintana Roo.^[7] On 30 November 2012, incoming president Enrique Peña Nieto announced that Joaquín Coldwell was to serve in his cabinet as secretary of energy.^[8]