Carmelo Mesa-Lago was born in Havana in 1934. He left Cuba in 1961 and moved to Miami, Florida in I962.

Carmelo Mesa-Lago has a BA Law University of Havana (1956), Doctor Law University Madrid and Diploma Social Security OISS (1958), MA Economics University of Miami (1965) and PhD Industrial and Labor Relations (social security) from Cornell University (1968).

He is a distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics and Latin American Studies University of Pittsburgh (1999-), Distinguished Professor (1980-99), Director Center for Latin American Studies (1974-86); Greenleaf Visiting Professor Tulane University (2009), Professor/Research Scholar Florida International University (1999-02), Emilio Bacardi Visiting Professor University of Miami (1994); Visiting Professor Oxford University, Free University Berlin, Centro Latinoamericano de Economia Humana (Montevideo), Centro Interamericano Estudios de Seguridad Social (Mexico City), Instituto Universitario Ortega y Gasset (Madrid) and Universidad de Salamanca; Research Associate Max-Plank-Institut fiir Sozialrecht und Sozialpolitik (Munich) and Instituto Torcuato Di Tella (Buenos Aires). Mesa­ Lago has also taught at universities in Havana and Madrid.