Nemat Shafik – UK Deputy Governor

In the British financial sector, one of the most influential women is Dame Nemat Shafik, who currently is the deputy managing director. She is part of the monetary policy committee at the Bank of England, responsible for the banking and markets. Not to mention she was appointed the next director at the London School of Economics and will start in 2017.

Previously, Shafik was the deputy managing director from 2011 to 2014 on the International Monetary Fund. Before that, she was a part of the Department for International Development as a Permanent Secretary of the United Kingdom.

An economist at heart, she has been in many top positions at a bunch of international organizations, garnering respect, and experience. Plus, she has taught, spoken, and published a ton on globalization, private investment, emerging markets, international development, the environment, the Middle East and Africa.

Shafik was born in Alexandria, Egypt, however, she was raised in the United States and Egypt. Shafik attended the American University in Cairo and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst obtaining a degree in politics and economics. Even though she grew up in America and speaks English, she has both a US and UK nationality.

The name Nemat is a unisex name and means “blessings, favor, or boon” in Arabic. The name is a plural version of Nima, which in Arabic means “blessing”. The name is common in Asian cultures and is given to many notable people, like Nemat Mokhtarzada a modern Tajik poet from Afghanistan.