Hafez Ghanem, an Egyptian and French national, is the Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa since March 2, 2015. He is a development expert with more than thirty years of experience in policy analysis, project formulation and supervision, and management of multinational institutions. Dr. Ghanem leads the World Bank’s engagement with 20 Middle East and North African countries through a portfolio of ongoing projects, technical assistance and grants worth more than US$13 billion. Eradicating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity through the creation of opportunities are core to his vision for the Middle East and North Africa Region. Prior to his appointment as Vice President, Dr. Ghanem was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in the Global Economy and Development program, and the Assistant Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Dr. Ghanem’s previous positions at the World Bank include Country Director for Nigeria, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles, and Sector Leader for Public Economics and Trade Policy in the Europe and Central Asia Region. He has many publications in professional journals and was a member of the core team that produced the World Bank’s 1995 World Development Report. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Economics from the American University in Cairo and a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Davis. He is fluent in Arabic, English and French.