Karachi, March 12, 2008: Dr. Ishrat Husain arrived in Karachi from Islamabad to take charge as the Director of the Institute of Business Administration on Wednesday morning.

He was appointed as the Director of the IBA Karachi by the Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad last month.

Dr. Husain is the HEC Distinguish National Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Quaid-e-Azam University. He is also the Chairman of HEC Social Sciences Council.

Dr. Husain served as the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan for six years. He also headed the National Commission for Government Reforms. Prior to this, he worked as the Director for Central Asian Republics at the World Bank. From 1991-94, Dr. Husain served as Chief Economist for Africa and later became Chief Economist of the World Bank for the East Asian and Pacific region.

Dr. Husain obtained his Master’s degree in Development Economics from Williams College and Doctorate in Economics from Boston University.

Dr. Husain has maintained an active scholarly interest in development issues. He has authored 12 books and monographs and contributed more than two dozen articles in refereed journals. He is regularly invited as a speaker to international conferences and seminars all over the world and has presented papers at more than 100 international conferences. He also serves on the Boards of several research institutes, philanthropic and cultural organizations in and outside Pakistan.

In recognition of his meritorious services, he was conferred the prestigious award of “Hilal-e-Imtiaz” by the President of Pakistan in 2003. The Banker Magazine of London declared him as the Central Bank Governor of the year for Asia in 2005. He also received the Asian Banker Lifetime achievement award in 2006.