[3] He previously served as secretary of finance in the cabinet of Felipe Calderón (2006–09), as deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (2003–06)[1] and as treasurer of the Bank of Mexico.

[7] He is married to Catherine Mansell, an American academic, writer and economist who has authored several books on finance and on literary fiction and nonfiction under the pen name C. M.

[1] Carstens left the IMF to coordinate the economic policy program of Felipe Calderón, then president-elect of Mexico, who appointed him as secretary of finance shortly after the election was validated.

[11] As secretary, Carstens took the unconventional decision to hedge Mexico's oil earnings for 2009 against possible price falls, leading to an $8 billion profit for the country.

[citation needed] Carstens was nominated to the Bank of Mexico on 9 December 2009 by President Felipe Calderón,[13] replacing 12-year veteran Guillermo Ortiz, who reduced inflation from double digits to 4 percent by the end of 2009.