Yussur A. F. Abrar ( so, Yusuur Abraar, ar, يوسور الابرار) is a Somali banker and entrepreneur. She previously served as Vice-President at

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...

, as well as Vice-President of Credit Risk Management at the

American International Group American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Abrar is also the founder and President of Warsun International Communications Corp. From September to November 2013, she was the Governor of the

Central Bank of Somalia The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) ( so, Bankiga Dhexe ee Soomaaliya, ar, البنك المركزي الصومالي) is the monetary authority of Somalia. Somalia has struggled to reestablish a functioning state since the collapse of an autho ...

Background

Personal life

Abrar was born in the northwestern town of

Borama Borama ( so, Boorama, ar, بورما) is the Second capital city of Somaliland and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia. During the Mid ...

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

. She hails from the

Gadabuursi The Gadabuursi ( Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family. The Gadabuursi are geographically s ...

Samaroon The Gadabuursi (Somali language, Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic language, Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic language, Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir ...

clan.Yussur Abrar (Dir/Gadabursi), who hails from Borama in Somaliland http://www.africaintelligence.com/ION/politics-power/2013/11/08/yussur-abrar-did-not-last-long,107993799-ART She later pursued her post-secondary education in 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 territorie ...

, earning a bachelor's degree from the

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. She also holds an M.B.A. from the same institution.

Early career

In a professional capacity, Abrar has over three decades of experience in banking, risk management and insurance. She is the founder and President of Warsun International Communications Corp., a telecommunications company with a focus on internet accessibility. As of 2002, the firm was headquartered in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, and 22182), bordered approx ...

and employed around 50 workers. Abrar previously also acted as the Vice President at

. Additionally, she was Vice President of Credit Risk Management at the

(AIG) in

, one of the world's largest insurance companies. Abrar has likewise served as a financial consultant.

Central Bank of Somalia

On 13 September 2013, Abrar was appointed the Governor of the

by incumbent President

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ( so, Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud, ar, حسن شيخ محمود; born 29 November 1955) is a Somali politician who has served as the president of Somalia since May 2022. He is the founder and current chairman of the Union for P ...

. She succeeded

Abdisalam Omer Abdisalam Omer Hadliye ( so, Cabdisalaan Cumar Hadliye; ar, عبد السلام عمر), also known as Abdisalan Hadliye Omar, is a Somali economist and politician. He was previously a Chief of Staff at the Executive Office of the Mayor of the ...

in the position and is the first woman to have been appointed to the post. Abrar's first announced priorities included revitalizing the national financial system through the issuance of licenses to banks and other financial institutions, collaborating with stakeholders on the remittance market, strengthening the regulation framework to ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency, and instituting monetary policy vis-a-vis job creation to galvanize economic development and growth. On 1 November 2013, Abrar stepped down from her position as Somalia's Central Bank Governor. In a formal letter of resignation, she cited interference with the bank's functions as among the main reasons for her departure, as well as pressure to sanction deals that she believed were in violation of her fiduciary responsibility as head of the national monetary authority. Abrar was succeeded at the position by

Bashir Isse Bashir Isse ( so, Bashiir Cisse, ar, بشير عيسى), also known as Bashir Issa Ali, is a Somali banker. He previously served as the CEO of the Commercial and Savings Bank of Somalia, and as both the Deputy Governor and Governor of the Central ...

, who was appointed on 27 November 2013.

Citations

External links

Global-Digital Communications company contact information
(includes Abrar as the contact) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrar, Yussur A.F. American people of Somali descent Ethnic Somali people Gadabuursi Governors of Central Bank of Somalia Living people Oklahoma State University alumni People from Awdal Somalian economists Somalian expatriates in the United States Year of birth missing (living people)