Rania A. Al-Mashat ( ar, رانيا المشاط; born 20 June 1975) is an
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
economist and politician who is the country's current
Minister of International Cooperation and former Minister of Tourism from 2018 until December 2019. She previously held high level positions at the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
in
Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and at the
Central Bank of Egypt
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE; ar, البنك المركزي المصري) is the central bank and monetary authority of Arab Republic of Egypt.
Currency
Since the trading of gold and silver coins in Egypt and until 1834, there was no one ...
.
Early life and education
Al-Mashat was born in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
to
Abdel Monem El Mashat, a professor of Political Science at
Cairo University
Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...
and Nagwa el-Attar, who worked at
Ain Shams University.
She graduated from
The American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...
(AUC) in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
Her father was appointed Egyptian Cultural and Educational Counselor at the
Egyptian Embassy in
Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in 1995, and Al-Mashat enrolled at the nearby
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
,
[ where she completed her master's degree in 1998 and her PhD in 2001,] specializing in International Economics with a focus on monetary policy and public debt management.[
]
Career
Al-Mashat worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
in Washington DC from June 2001 until July 2005.[ When she started at the IMF, at age 25, she was the youngest person working there.][ She worked on programs in ]India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, and Gambia.[
In August 2005, Al-Mashat returned to Egypt at the invitation of Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin to help modernise the bank's systems and dealings,][ where she worked as sub-governor and head of the Monetary Policy Department for the ]Central Bank of Egypt
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE; ar, البنك المركزي المصري) is the central bank and monetary authority of Arab Republic of Egypt.
Currency
Since the trading of gold and silver coins in Egypt and until 1834, there was no one ...
until May 2016.[ After the 2011 revolution, she helped construct and present the Government's Economic Program.][ She also taught economics at the American University in Cairo and served on the Boards of the ]Egyptian Exchange
The Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Egypt's stock exchange, comprises two exchanges, Cairo and Alexandria, both governed by the same board of directors and sharing the same trading, clearing and settlement systems. Presently, the chairman of the Egyptian ...
, Arab International Bank and the Middle East Economic Association
The Middle East Economic Association (MEEA) is a private, non-profit, and non-political organization of scholars interested in the study of economies and economics of the Middle East. The geographical term "Middle East" is used in its widest usa ...
.[
In August 2016, Al-Mashat returned to the ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
after she was appointed Advisor to the Chief Economist Chief economist is a single-position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of respons ...
of the IMF, Maurice Obstfeld
Maurice Moses "Maury" Obstfeld (born March 19, 1952) is a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley and previously Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson ...
.[ She said of this role, "I think the experience I had was always to surprise people on the upside by being a capable, Arab woman."][ In 2017, she participated in the ]World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
's "Investing in Peace" panel and was listed as one of 10 economic experts whose input was sought for a discussion about "making the world a fairer place."[
In January 2018, Al-Mashat was appointed Egypt's Minister of Tourism by ]Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Sherif Ismail
Sherif Ismail ( ar, شريف إسماعيل ; born 6 July 1955) is an Egyptian engineer who served as prime minister between 2015 and 2018. He was minister of petroleum and mineral resources from 2013 to 2015.
Career
Ismail studied mechan ...
, taking the number of women in the Cabinet to six. Al-Mashat became the first woman to hold the position and Egypt's youngest minister.[ In this role she oversees the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board and the Tourism Development Authority.][ She later said she was initially surprised at her appointment, but she understood that the president wanted the tourism sector "to be handled from an economic perspective." Tourism represents between 15-20 percent of Egypt's ]GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
.
In October 2018, Al-Mashat escorted US First Lady Melania Trump
Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...
on her visit to the Giza Pyramids
The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...
, saying that the visit conveyed the message of "Egypt's safety and security to the world." In January 2019, Al-Mashat announced that Egypt's Grand Museum will be launched in 2020 and will be run by the private sector as part of the government plan to step away from managing many ancient sites. Al-Mashat was one of six speakers at the World Tourism Forum in Lucerne May 2019.
In August 2023, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC ( ar, مصرف أبوظبي الإسلامي) is an Islamic bank based in Abu Dhabi city, in the United Arab Emirates.
Establishment
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank was established on 20 May 1997 as a Public Joint Stock Compa ...
Egypt (ADIB Egypt) named Al-Mashat as a member of its board of directors.
Al-Mashat has spoken out about gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
and the importance of education, saying, "To all Egyptian girls, continue to invest in your education. The world is very competitive and what you know is what distinguishes you from anyone else."
Awards and honours
Al-Mashat received the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from AUC.[ In 2014, the World Economic Forum named her a "]Young Global Leader
Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL), was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum. The YGL, a non-profit organization managed from Geneva, Switzerland, is under the supervision of the Swiss government ...
".[ In 2015, she was named one of the 50 most influential women in the Egyptian economy.]
In March 2021, Al-Mashat received the “Champions of Change” award during a joint ceremony organised by the Embassies of Mexico, Canada, and Sweden in Cairo.
In December 2022, Al-Mashat received the award for “Most Visionary and Outstanding Minister of International Cooperation of 2022 in Africa”, presented by the George Washington University Institute of African Studies and the GE7 Initiative in the Visionary Leaders Annual Summit in Washington D.C.
Selected publications
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Personal life
Al-Mashat is a Muslim and she first made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1997.[
]
References
External links
*
Bloomberg Daybreak interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mashat, Rania
Living people
1975 births
Politicians from Cairo
The American University in Cairo alumni
University of Maryland, College Park alumni
Egyptian women economists
21st-century Egyptian economists
International Monetary Fund people
Egyptian women academics
Women government ministers of Egypt
Tourism ministers of Egypt
21st-century Egyptian women politicians
21st-century Egyptian politicians
Academic staff of The American University in Cairo