Saadeh Al Shami () is an economist, academic and Lebanese politician who has been serving as the

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

in the cabinet led by

Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati ( ar, نجيب عزمي ميقاتي; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President ...

since 10 September 2021.

Biography

Al Shami hails from a Lebanese Greek Orthodox family. From 1987 to 1993 he was the head of the graduate school of business at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

. He worked at the Lebanese premiership and the

finance ministry A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

as a head of the reform commission between 2005 and 2006. Then from 2008 to 2013 he worked 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 globa ...

in different positions, including the assistant to the director of the Middle East and Central Asia department. Al Shami also served as the head of Capital Markets Authority in Lebanon between 2013 and 2017. In 2018 he began to work as the group chief economist at the

National Bank of Kuwait The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) was founded in 1952. It is the largest financial institution in Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It ...

. He was a member of the

Syrian Social Nationalist Party The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) or is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present- ...

. In the proposed cabinet by Saad Hariri in July 2021 Al Shami was named as the minister of economy, but the cabinet was not approved by the Lebanese Parliament. He was appointed deputy prime minister in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

formed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati on 10 September 2021. In April 2022 Shami announced that the

Banque du Liban Banque du Liban (BdL, ar, مصرف لبنان, English: Bank of Lebanon) is the central bank of Lebanon. It was established on August 1, 1963, and became fully operational on April 1, 1964. It is currently headed by Riad Salameh. One of the ma ...

, central bank of Lebanon, went bankrupt: "The state has gone bankrupt as did the Banque du Liban, and the loss has occurred, and we will seek to reduce losses for the people."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shami, Saadeh 20th-century economists 20th-century Lebanese people 21st-century economists 21st-century Lebanese people American University of Beirut faculty Deputy prime ministers of Lebanon Government ministers of Lebanon International Monetary Fund people Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Living people Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon politicians Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Lebanese economists