ISLAMABAD – Newly appointed prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has finalised names of the interim cabinet, and former State Bank governor Dr. Shamshad Akhtar has been picked for the role of caretaker finance minister.
Pakistan’s revered economist, UN diplomat, and noted banker has been named for the coveted role of finance czar as the process of appointing key members of the federal cabinet is underway, with different names surfaced for other positions.
Days after getting Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Independence Day, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar gets the tough role of the country’s finance chief.
In her glittering career, Dr Shamshad served as State Bank Governor for a 3-year term and was the first woman to lead SBP. She earlier served in Asian Development Bank (ADB) as its Director General, Southeast Asia Department, and holds a position in ADB. She also served as chairperson of the board of directors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
She hailed from Hyderabad, Sindh, and received her early education in Karachi and Islamabad. She graduated in Economics from the University of Punjab, and completed her Economics at Quaid-e-Azam University, in capital.
Dr Shamshad gets another master’s in Development Economics from the University of Sussex and a doctorate in Economics from the UK in 1980. She then continued post-doctorate work as Fulbright Scholar and was a visiting fellow at the Department of Economics, Harvard University.