Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has issued a decision appointing Hassan Abdullah as Acting Governor of the Central Bank, and the decision is expected to formally take effect after approval by the House of Representatives.
The choice of a new central bank governor comes after Tariq Amer recently apologized for his position, ahead of the end of his second term as central bank governor, after nearly 7 years in the position, which he began on November 27, 2015.
Abdullah was selected due to his extensive experience as he served as CEO and Vice President of the Arab African International Bank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab and French Banks in Hong Kong, and Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Allegiance to Egypt Foundation.
The new Central Bank Governor received a BBA in 1982 from the American University in Cairo and an MBA in 1992 from the same university.
He was also appointed head of the United Media Services Company following the announcement of an ambitious plan to develop the sector, in addition to holding a number of senior positions as a member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab and French Banks in Paris. German-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Advisory Council for Emerging Markets and the Central Bank of Egypt.
At the academic level, the new central bank governor has served as a lecturer at the American University in Cairo and a member of the Strategic Advisory Board at the College of Business Administration at the American University in Cairo.
Abdullah has served on the board of directors of several large companies led by Orascom Construction and Industry, the Coca-Cola Egypt bottling company, as well as a number of large companies, in addition to being elected a founding member of the Egyptian National Competitiveness. Council, Founding Member and President of the Small Business Investor Association, and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Banking Institute.
Notably, President Sisi issued a Republican decision to accept the apology of Central Bank Governor Tariq Amer for not retaining his position and decided to appoint him as an adviser to the President of the Republic.