Shamshad Akhtar is a Pakistani

development economist Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

diplomat, banker and politician who served as the caretaker

finance minister of Pakistan The Minister of Finance of Pakistan (Urdu: 'Wazīr-ē-Khazana') is a leading cabinet member who heads the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Pakistan. The Minister is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget to ...

from 2023 to 2024 as well as from 5 June 2018 to 18 August 2018. Prior to that, she served as the 14th

Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Here is a list of the governors of the State Bank of Pakistan. List of governors See also * State Bank of Pakistan * Planning Commission (Pakistan) * Economy of Pakistan References Profile of Past Governors of State Bank of Pakistan ...

, the first woman to assume this position. She also served as a senior adviser to the then

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

and as Vice-President of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. In December 2013, Akhtar was selected by the UN Secretary-General as Under-Secretary-General and the 10th Chief Secretary of the Monetary and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Since 17 August 2023, she has been serving as care taker Federal Minister of Finance.

Early life and education

Shamshad Akhtar was born in

Hyderabad, Sindh Hyderabad, also known as Neroonkot, is the capital and largest city of the Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Sindh by population, second-largest city in Sindh, after Karachi, and the List of citie ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. She moved to the United Kingdom on a

Commonwealth Scholarship The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed ...

to study at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

, receiving an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

development economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...

in 1977. She moved to the

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland (), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Blantyre, Dumfries and Ayr, as well as a campus in London, England. T ...

(then Paisley College of Technology) where she was awarded a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Economics in 1980.

Career

Akhtar started her career in 1980 with the Planning Commission in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

but moved few months later to work with the

's Resident Mission in Pakistan as a country economist. She left in 1986 for a year-long sabbatical to attend

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

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as a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

under the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. In 2005, she moved back to Pakistan to serve as the 14th

, a position she retained until January 2009. In 2009, Akhtar re-joined the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

as a senior advisor to

Haruhiko Kuroda is a Japanese banker and a former Ministry of Finance government official who served as the 31st Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) from March 2013 to April 2023 and is currently a Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studie ...

. She moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

to be able to work at the

and served as the Vice President, World Bank

Middle East and North Africa The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

region. During this period, she spearheaded the bank's response to the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

political campaign and the Arab regional integration strategy and its implementation. In September 2011, she moved to the

to serve as the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Senior Adviser on Economic Development and Finance to the

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

. In December 2013, Akhtar was appointed as the 10th Executive Secretary of UNESCAP in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. In 2020, Akhtar was appointed by

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

to serve on the Advisory Committee for the 2021 Food Systems Summit, chaired by Inger Andersen. In 2023, Akhtar was appointed as caretaker finance minister of Pakistan

Wealth

According to

Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local g ...

, prior to assuming her role as caretaker finance minister in 2023, Akhtar declared her net worth to be . Among the mentioned assets are in Naya Pakistan Certificates, in Pakistani treasury bills, shares of

Pakistan State Oil Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSOCL) operating as PSO, is a Karachi-based, state-owned energy company. Established in 1976, the company operates in the oil and gas industry.As of 2024, it maintains a network of 3,580 retail outlets, nine i ...

worth Rs. 0.3 million, and residential plots in DHA. Akhtar also has more than deposited in different banks.

Recognition

* On 23 October 2007, Akhtar was conferred Best Central Bank Governor for Asia 2007 by the

Euromoney Institutional Investor Delinian (formerly Euromoney Institutional Investor) is a British financial media company that has interests in business and financial publishing and event organisation. , it was one of Europe's largest business and financial information comp ...

. * On 11 November 2008, Akhtar was named amongst the top ten women leaders in Asia by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''.

References

External links

Official website of State Bank of PakistanShamshad awarded “Best Central Bank Governor in Asia” prizeShamshad visits native village for first time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Shamshad Harvard Kennedy School alumni Governors of the State Bank of Pakistan Ministers of finance of Pakistan Alumni of the University of the West of Scotland People from Hyderabad District, Pakistan People from Naushahro Feroze District Alumni of the University of Sussex Living people Muhajir people University of the Punjab alumni Quaid-i-Azam University alumni Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom Pakistani expatriates in the United States Pakistani officials of the United Nations 1954 births Female finance ministers