Jaime Alemán Healy

Jaime Eduardo Alemán Healy (born 14 November 1953) is a Panamanian lawyer, businessman, world traveler, and diplomat. He served as Ambassador of Panama to the United States from August 11, 2009, to January 2, 2011, appointed by President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal.

He has also traveled to the 193 United Nations member states, to the North Pole and South Pole and participated on a suborbital spaceflight with Blue Origin on the New Shepard NS-32 mission. According to travel record-keeping sources, with these combined achievements he has been described as the first person to complete a travel "Grand Slam" by visiting every country, both poles, and going into space.

Biography Alemán was born in 1953 in Panama City, Panama. He spent part of his childhood in Washington, D.C., where his father, Roberto Alemán Zubieta, served as a negotiator for the Robles-Johnson Treaties and later as Ambassador of Panama to the United States (1968–1969). His brother, José Miguel Alemán, is a Panamanian politician who ran for president in 2004. Alemán holds a Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law (1978) and a B.A. in economics from the University of Notre Dame. He is an honorary member of Duke's School of Law Board of Visitors and received the International Alumni Achievement Award from the school in 2003.

Career Alemán is the managing partner of Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, a Panamanian law firm he founded in 1985.

For over two decades, Alemán has served on the boards of directors for entities including HSBC Bank Panama, Banistmo, Leasing Banistmo, Panamá Power Holdings, Fideicomiso Ena Norte, PKB Bank (Panama), and the Tag Bank.

Alemán began his public career in 1978 as a legal advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. He served as legal counselor to President Nicolás Ardito Barletta (1984–1985) and as Minister of Government and Justice under President Eric Arturo Delvalle (1988). In 1999, he was appointed to the Council of Foreign Affairs by President Mireya Moscoso. He served as Panama's Ambassador to the United States from August 2009 to January 2011 and was reappointed to the Council of Foreign Affairs by President Laurentino Cortizo in 2020.

Alemán published his autobiography, La Honestidad No Tiene Precio, in August 2014, and Alrededor del mundo en 48 años in January 2022.

Personal life Alemán is married to María del Pilar Arosemena de Alemán and has three children: Jaime Eduardo, Ana Sofía, and Juan Manuel, as well as six grandchildren.

Exploration and travel milestones In January 2024, Alemán reached the South Pole on an expedition, and later in August 2024, he reached the North Pole, completing visits to both polar extremes of Earth. In May 2025, he flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-32 suborbital spaceflight, crossing the Kármán line and entering space. With these achievements — having visited all 193 United Nations member states, both the North Pole and South Pole, and traveling into space — some sources describe Alemán as the first person to complete a global “Grand Slam” of travel, encompassing every country, both poles, and space.